Reviewing Blue Devil v1 (1984 - 1986)

In celebration of Halloween 2019, we've decided to review a comic book series about a guy who becomes a superhero because he got stuck in his costume. Since you've surely read the header of this review (which was most likely the reason you clicked on the link that brought you here), welcome to our look back at Blue Devil v1:

True History of the Blue Devil

Created by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and Paris Cullins, the idea of Blue Devil was first conceived by Mishkin and Cohn when they were contributing stories for the DC horror/mystery/fantasy anthology titles in the early eighties. The comic buying landscape had changed; readers weren't so interested in anthology titles anymore and sales on these books were dwindling. It quickly became apparent that the anthology titles with the highest readership were the ones with recurring characters that kept readers coming back every month (ex: Andrew Bennet in House of Mystery, G.I. Robot and Creature Commandoes in Weird War Tales). Dave Manak (editor of Ghosts, Unexpected and Secrets of Haunted House) asked Mishkin and Cohn to come up with a supernatural story with "lots of room for heroics and broad action, as well".  

From Dan Mishkin: "As for Amethyst and Blue Devil, neither one of those existed even as a vague notion until we were writing professionally and were asked to come up with new series. Each of those grew out an invitation to invent a lead feature for one of DC’s "mystery" titles, as "I…Vampire" was for House of Mystery. But for whatever reason, they caught the attention of higher-ups who wanted to original series in brand-new titles. We were lucky to be around during one of those unusual times when the company was looking to broaden its offerings."

Paris Cullins' version of how he came on board for Blue Devil: "I was doing House of Mystery and I had just joined the DC comics intern program for artists. I just finished a werewolf story with Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin, and they asked me if I wanted another one. And I said 'of course', and they said 'well, I think we've got this one free, but I think we're giving it to Steve Ditko'. Steve Ditko called me up and said 'I don't want to do it', And they handed it to me - and it was the Blue Devil. I did it and I worked it, they liked it so much and it went from a tiny story and they said 'make it bigger', so I made it bigger. So they asked again, and it took up the whole book. and they looked at it again and said 'this should be a comic book!'. And then from there, we got what we got." 

16-page Preview Story

special Blue Devil insert from Firestorm v2 #24 (1984)

About a month before the first issue of Blue Devil hit the stands, a 16-page Blue Devil sneak peek appeared in The Fury of Firestorm, The Nuclear Man #24 (1984). In this preview, Blue Devil battles the Trickster (one of the Flash's rogues). As far as previews go, this one reads very nicely: we're introduced to film stuntman Dan Cassidy, the 'super-stunt suit' he's designed, his 'sidekick' (Gopher), his boss (Marla), his love interest (Sharon), his frenemy (Wayne) and we get to see Blue Devil in action as he battles an established super-villain for 4 pages.

To the reader who knew nothing about the Blue Devil going into this preview, it appears to be a 'regular joe wears an enhanced cybernetic suit to fight crime'-type of story. Mishkin and Cohn would save the 'hook' (aka: what makes the Blue Devil unique among other heroes) for the first issue.

Comic readers who also read Amazing Heroes would've first heard of Blue Devil in Amazing Heroes #39 -- the "1984 Preview Issue". It was published and distributed roughly 3 months before Blue Devil's debut in Firestorm #24.

"We've made comics FUN again"

During the same month Blue Devil #1 was being published, the following house ad was appearing in various DC comics titles:

"We've made comics fun again!"... ? That's a pretty bold statement. Aren't comics supposed to be fun? Apparently, in 1984, they weren't. Around this era, the best-selling titles were Tales of the Teen Titans, Legion of Super-Heroes, Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, Alpha Flight and other team books that played up the interpersonal drama between cast members. Since best-selling comics always inspire other comics to follow suit, there were a whole lot of comics out there trying to emulate that angle -- hence a trend in serious/drama-filled books.

Mishkin explained in Amazing Heroes #39: "We're poking fun at the conventions of being a superhero. Blue Devil is a little like how someone in the real world might react to becoming a superhero, since he finds himself pushed into the situation of having to be a superhero... other people have talked about the idea of doing a reluctant superhero before, but this is a real reluctant hero." Cohn also added: "Blue Devil was created from the feeling that the essence of the superhero book has been lost. Superhero books today are very serious and grim, pretending that everything is real, which is nonsense. Every time you have a character jumping about in his underwear, it is obviously fantasy... we want to have a fun fantasy, a sense of rollicking adventure." An anecdote from editor Alan Gold in Blue Devil issue #2 revealed that Len Wein (editor of New Teen Titans, Fury of Firestorm, Saga of the Swamp Thing, Camelot 3000, Batman and the Outsiders, etc...) suggested to Mishkin and Cohn that Blue Devil be "a fun character -- a long-leaping, optimistic, high IQ slugger who clambered each issue out of the wreckage of heavily armored bad guys he'd taken out of commission."  To this effect, Alan Gold also professed that Blue Devil would be "sunnier and more exuberant than many, and it will be 100 percent non-preachy, non-artsy-shmartsy, and never self-important."

Blue Devil ongoing series

When the first issue of Blue Devil v1 was released, Mishkin was still about half-a-year away from finishing his run on Wonder Woman and Cohn was writing the Barren Earth back-up stories in The Warlord. Both writers had just finished up the Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld v1 maxi-series.

Like every good comic series should, Blue Devil kicks off with the all-important origin issue: while on a film shoot, stuntman Dan Cassidy saves his film crew from a demon (thanks to his Blue Devil stunt costume). Throughout the course of the battle, he gets blasted by the demon's energies and Dan somehow becomes permanently bonded to his costume. The good news: his costume grants him augmented endurance, strength, speed, hearing, vision and the ability to breathe underwater (and a few other things I'm forgetting). The bad news: he's trapped in the body of a 7" tall blue-skinned devil. This is pretty much everything you need to know in order to enjoy future issues of Blue Devil v1.

The 'man trapped in a monster's body' isn't exactly a new concept (Marvel's Ben Grimm/The Thing of the Fantastic Four immediately comes to mind), and I can see the temptation of wanting to dwell on that idea of being trapped in a monstrous body that isn't your own (the story pretty much writes itself) -- nevertheless, Mishkin and Cohn keep a relatively upbeat and action-packed story rolling and Blue Devil never really finds himself feeling sorry for himself.

Fun fact: Many readers commented that Paris Cullins' art had improved between the 16-page preview and the first issue. This was, in fact, because the preview pages had been illustrated by Paris one year prior to issue #1 being released.

Paris Cullins pencils and Gary Martin inks -- Blue Devil v1 #3

This series is enjoyable to look at. Paris' art is clean, there's lots of action in his stories and his characters are expressive. After the first four issues, it's pretty much confirmed that he and inker Gary Martin are THE Blue Devil penciller/inker team. Unfortunately, due to unknown reasons, Paris had to suddenly leave the title after issue #6. (Paris would continue illustrating the covers for this series.) This lead to a scramble to find a regular penciller/inker team for Blue Devil v1 -- what we got in the interim were a few issues pencilled by an assortment of big name talent: Gil Kane, Keith Giffen, Ernie Colon, Mike Chen and Tod Smith. It was finally settled that Alan Kupperberg (brother of writer Paul Kupperberg) would become the regular penciller starting with issue #12. Despite Alan's great pencilling work, Blue Devil fans never forgot Paris' work and would keep requesting Paris' return to the title until the very last issue of the series.

Alan Kupperberg pencils and Bill Collins inks - from Blue Devil v1 #24

Fun Fact: Mike Chen was slated to be the regular penciller on Blue Devil v1 after Paris Cullins left, but things fell through and Chen was assigned elsewhere.

Fun Fact: Readers noticed that some of the covers didn't match the story inside -- the first five issues of Blue Devil v1 were illustrated by Paris before the issue was written (they had the general plot/concept down, so Paris knew which characters would be appearing). Some fans picked up on the appearance of Blue Devil's trident on the covers of issues 2 and 3.

Together, Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn wrote twenty-eight issues of this thirty-two issue series (I'm including DC Comics Presents #96 in here). One fill-in issue was written by Todd Klein, another issue was written by editor Alan Gold (with Mishkin as story editor), and a few issues were written by Mishkin on his own.

As someone who sat down and read Blue Devil v1 from the preview issue all the way to issue #31, I can attest that Mishkin and Cohn (and editor Alan Gold) held true to their word -- this was a fun, entertaining series that didn't take itself seriously. Nobody dies, and there's no tense subplots of unrequited love or stories examining both sides of the social issue du jour. (Late in the series I thought a story was going to delve into the intricacies of the Northern Irish Conflict -- but no, it was just a set up for a FLF [Faerie Liberation Front] gag). Lots of visual gags give the observant reader something to enjoy, and most stories don't last for more than one issue.

Sometimes you've just got to stop in where everybody know your name...

From Blue Devil v1 #2. Pencils by Paris Cullins, inks by Gary Martin.

An astute reader will notice a change in direction from the first six issues of the series onwards. The issues illustrated by Paris had way more action/fight scenes and more of Blue Devil trying to figure this new situation out, whereas everything following issue #5 starts to turn into one big wacky adventure. Readers picked up on this and called editor Alan Gold out on it. Gold's reply?"Few artists can make basically mindless fighting a pleasure to look out month after month. Even if Paris had stayed on the job, I think BLUE DEVIL as the fight-of-the-month would have become a predictable bore by the end of the first year. BLUE DEVIL is hardly a cerebral experience first and foremost, but it's more than just a free-for-all. It couldn't remain a free-for-all forever."

In another issue's letter column, series editor Alan Gold would admit that he'd been encouraging Mishkin and Cohn to reach for 'ever-absurder premises' since issue #6. This was starting to backfire as readers were starting to complain about Blue Devil's 'cornball humour' from issue #7 onwards (as opposed to the tongue-in-cheek humour found in the first six issues):

Mad scientists create a giant-sized reproduction of Trickster's shoe in Blue Devil v1 #9. 

Okay, I found this funny, but some readers got annoyed and thought this was too absurd. 

Ernie Colon pencils, Gary Martin inks.

FUN FACT: Issue #11 was a fill-in issue (written by Todd Klein) that received a bit of flak from Blue Devil readers. It was an out-of-continuity 'silly dream' issue that readers either loved or hated, and it would seem like editor Alan Gold was testing the waters on what they could get away with. What's notable here is that Todd Klein (best known for his lettering) was about to become the regular writer on The Omega Men (another book Gold was editing) for the next year. Tod Smith pencilled this issue as he was just leaving The Omega Men after an (almost) 15-issue consecutive run.

Blue Devil v1 ran during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, hence it had to be involved in some way. Blue Devil v1 #5 gave us a glimpse of Harbinger and the Monitor watching Blue Devil from a satellite, and issues #17 and #18 were the actual tie-in issues. Issue #17 ends with Blue Devil being summoned by John Stewart Green Lantern to assist with a Crisis, and the story continues in Crisis On Infinite Earths #8. Blue Devil v1 #18 is the aftermath of what transpires in Omega Men #31. From Amazing Heroes Summer 1985 Preview Special, Dan Mishkin explained that "the request that DC made of all its writers and editors concerning the Crisis on Infinite Earths was that all books across the line tie in to Crisis." Blue Devil has the distinction of being one of the few books to not have anything really change due to Crisis On Infinite Earths (aka: no deaths, no retcons, no new costumes or powers, etc...). Kudos to Mishkin and Cohn for weathering the storm (of crimson skies).

A Blue Devil Summer Special (aka: Blue Devil Annual #1) was published around the same time as the Crisis tie-ins. What's notable about this annual is that the original Blue Devil art team (Paris Cullins on pencils and Gary Martin on inks) returned to illustrated this one. Many readers felt that Blue Devil v1 found it's stride with this annual. I tend to agree. This issue is jam-packed with mystical guest stars, featured pin-ups of the regular cast and included a board game. As an added bonus, this issue features a schematic of Blue Devil's exo-suit (before it was mystically bonded to his body):

Blue Devil's exo-suit (as seen in Blue Devil Annual v1 #1)

Despite pencilling the Blue Devil Summer Fun Special (and every cover in the series), Paris Cullins would not return as regular penciller for Blue Devil. As a matter of fact, in Blue Devil v1 #24 it was announced that Paris would be the regular penciler on Len Wein's newest project, Blue Beetle. While it was never stated why Paris left Blue Devil, we do know he was slated to work on Len Wein's newest mini-series, Zero-Man. Paris had finished pencilling the first issue before being assigned to Blue Beetle. Zero-Man never saw completion or publication.

Issue #24 had readers complaining that the series was striving too hard for 'lunacy' rather than standard comic book action. Editor Alan Gold once again agreed that they've let Blue Devil become too parodic for its own good.

While most issues read like a plot from a Saturday morning cartoon, a few stories stood out to me: Blue Devil, in typical DC comics fashion, first battles and then teams up with Firestorm to take out some of Firestorm's enemies in a 3-issue story arc that ran in Fury of Firestorm #46, Blue Devil v1 #23 and Fury of Firestorm #47. This gave us an idea of what Blue Devil v1 could've been if they'd had dialed down the silly factor a notch. The most noteworthy panels aren't even in the Blue Devil issue, but in Fury of Firestorm #46:

context: Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm punches out his dad's girlfriend so she won't see him turn into Firestorm. try getting away with that in a modern comic. pencils by Joe J Brozowski, inks by Mike Machlan

Blue Devil v1 #7, guest-pencilled by Gil Kane, brought a super-serious look to the issue (as opposed to the clean, cartoony illustrations Paris had been giving us). Many fans wrote in to complain about it, but I thought it was a pretty interesting-looking issue and would've liked to have seen more. Apparently Gil was not pleased with his final output, but submitted it regardless to meet the deadline:

Gil Kane pencils and inks from Blue Devil v1 #7

The final issue, Blue Devil v1 #31, was another issue that stood out to me. It was a nice two-part story in a giant-sized issue that made me realize how much I was going to miss this series now that it was over. The first part was written by Bob Rozakis and illustrated by Bob Orzechowski/Dave Hunt and had humorous undertones set in an everyday setting. The second part was written by Mishkin & Cohn and illustrated by Dan Jurgens/Gary Martin, was a continuation of the first story but it played up the mystical angle a bit more. This entire issue demonstrated that Blue Devil was a very versatile character who could be played effectively in all sorts of situations with the right creative team.

Mishkin and Cohn made the right call in integrating a mix of new Blue Devil characters as well as bonafide pre-established DCU characters into the series. Blue Devil v1 had guest stars galore... Superman, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Black Orchid, Creeper, John Stewart Green Lantern (to name a few). It's not only superheroes who pop up, but supervillains as well -- during the course of the series Blue Devil battles Metallo, The Trickster, The Fisherman, Toy Man, Captain Boomerang and a bunch more I don't feel like spoiling. I really enjoyed this about the series -- every new issue filled me with anticipation as I was curious to see which DCU character would be popping up next. It was also a great way to keep Blue Devil 'anchored' to the DCU, since he had his own cast of support characters who could arguably have kept him in his own private world.

Fun Fact: Etrigan the Demon made an appearance in a two-part Blue Devil v1 story that compelled a few readers to write in and complain that the creative team was undoing all the good characterization Alan Moore had done for Etrigan in Saga of the Swamp Thing #27 - #29 (published about one year prior).

Someone tell that Demon to keep his shirt on!
(a coloring error had Etrigan appear shirtless). 

From Blue Devil v1 #13. Pencils by Alan Kupperberg, inks by Gary Martin.

Legacy

A few characters created for Blue Devil v1 did see life outside of the series. Shockwave, introduced in Blue Devil v1 #2, may not have seen much action after Blue Devil v1 ended -- but he was short-listed to become a Super Powers Collection action figure (along with Blue Devil) in Kenner's 4th wave of figures (circa 1986). Unfortunately, Kenner cancelled the toy line before this could materialize.

Blue Devil's first original super-villain: Shockwave! (from Blue Devil v1 #2)

Paris Cullins pencils and Gary Martin inks

The sixth issue of Blue Devil saw the first appearance of a super-villain I was vaguely familiar with, but never realized to be a Blue Devil villain. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing The Bolt:

The Bolt debuts in Blue Devil v1 #6

Pencils by Paris Cullins, inks by Ernie Colon

The Bolt would go on to sporadically appear as a villain for whatever title needed him (ex: Hawkman, Starman, Captain Atom, etc) and would continue to confuse Marvel readers when they kept mistaking him for Blackout (heyo!). The Bolt's big 'breakthrough moment' was when he became a member of John Ostrander/Kim Yale's Suicide Squad for three issues in the early nineties.

As previously mentioned, the Trickster guest stars quite a bit in this series, and not always as the villain. Mishkin and Cohn did a great job of bringing much-needed characterization to this Flash rogue -- as a matter of fact, Mishkin and Cohn even had a Trickster mini-series in the works, but nothing ever came of it.

Blue Devil and Trickster from Blue Devil v1 #8. Pencils by Keith Giffen, inks by Gary Martin.

  

It wouldn't be a 'fun' comic without a sidekick, so issue #14 introduced us to Kid Devil (aka: 'Gopher' in his own kid-sized Blue Devil costume). According to editor Alan Gold, fans loved the 'costumed sidekick' idea.

Introducing... Kid Devil! (cover of Blue Devil v2 #14 - illustrated by Paris Cullins)

It's a homage to the cover of Detective Comics #38. Don't believe me?... look it up.

Kid Devil would stick around and assist Blue Devil in battling series antagonist Jock Verner and his Vanquisher for the next two issues. After the Crisis on Infinite Earth tie-in issues, Kid Devil got an entire issue to himself with Blue Devil on the sidelines. Coincidentally, Kid Devil gets 'retired from the spotlight' from Blue Devil v1 after this, for about "a year's worth of stories". Kid Devil, later renamed to 'Red Devil', would later join the Teen Titans sometime in 2007.

Fun Fact: Any OMAC fans out there? The Verner family and the Vanquisher first appeared in Mishkin and Cohn's OMAC back-up feature from 1981's The Warlord #42 - #43. Hey, DC continuity hounds: OMAC is set in the far, far future -- so this is an Easter egg of sorts.

Fan Reaction

Blue Devil v1 was infamous for having such an immensely dedicated fan base; the first several issues of Blue Devil received piles and piles of letters praising the series. "T.M. Maple" and Beau Smith (he named Blue Devil 'the best new comic of the first quarter of 1984' via Comicast-FM) wrote in frequently.

Most popular reader requests:
-Will there be a comic book adaptation of the (fictional) Blue Devil movie?
-How about a Blue Devil graphic novel? How about a Blue Devil poster?
-How about a team-up with Blue Devil and Ambush Bug?
-When is Paris Cullins coming back to draw the series?

Editor Alan Gold kept a pretty lively letter column, and even launched a contest in issue #20: "Why I Ought to Appear in Blue Devil". Readers were asked to submit short essays and photos of themselves explaining why they should be in a Blue Devil v1 story. The winner appeared in a story for Blue Devil v1 #28.

Amazing Heroes #63 saw comics reviewer R.A. Jones rank Blue Devil as one of the 10 Best books of 1984. Also in the Top 10? Power Pack, Atari Force and Jon Sable, Freelance.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry

Alan Gold's last issue as editor was Blue Devil v1 #28. Actually, Gold completely left the comic book industry to go work for the Cambridge Book Co. after this issue. A fill-in issue written by Gold (and edited by Dan Mishkin) would appear in issue #29.

Barbara Randall took over as editor starting with issue Blue Devil v1 #29. Barbara would announce that Blue Devil v1 would be facing cancellation one issue later. "The cancellation came mostly from poor sales, and having to weed some books out of the schedule to make way for new ones (like the QUESTION, CAPTAIN ATOM, THE NEW FLASH...). I'm sorry this book was one of the casualties, and maybe we'll be able to bring BD back for a Special or two, but for now, his story is drawing to a close."

The Summer of 1986 Amazing Heroes Preview Special (which I'm presuming saw publication sometime April or May 1986) had already announced that Blue Devil would be cancelled as of issue #31. As a matter of fact, due to the announced cancellation, plans for a second Blue Devil Summer Special/Annual #2 were dropped and the contents were instead printed in the double-sized Blue Devil v1 #30 (which I'm glad they did -- it was one of my favorite issues that I forgot to mention).

In the final issue's letter column, Barbara Randall would mention that plans had been drafted to take a more 'serious look' at Blue Devil/Dan Cassidy, but that they unfortunately started this planning just a little too late (aka: too late to save the book from cancellation). Denys Cowan is name-dropped as the new Blue Devil penciller had the series continued. Shucks. The Summer of 1986 Amazing Heroes Preview Special pretty much confirms it: "Starting with issue #31, Blue Devil would have been, as Dan Mishkin described it, going through a Big Revival." It's teased (in the same article) that Blue Devil would appear in a future Booster Gold issue -- which he does, in Booster Gold #10 -- but he does not turn into a recurring guest star on the title.

No Blue Devil specials or one-shots ever saw publication after this, however, Blue Devil DID make appearances in all of the major DCU events (ex: Invasion!, Armageddon 2001, War of the Gods, Eclipso: The Darkness Within).

It wouldn't be until 1993 before Mishkin and Cohn would get another crack at making Blue Devil a household name. The duo wrote a Blue Devil feature that ran in Showcase '93 for six issues. In truth, I never got around to reading this series, so I couldn't tell you anything about it. Maybe this series will end up being a future review.

cover of Showcase '93 #5 -- Jose Luis Garcia Lopez cover art

The fate of Blue Devil, from co-creator Gary Cohn:

"The book was cancelled for what was then considered low sales when it dropped below 40,000. Consider how successful a book with almost 40,000 monthly sales would be considered now."

"Dan [Mishkin] was doing other work. MY star was descending. I'm not sure, over 30 years later, of the exact machinations...but he was getting ready to move on and I was going to take it on again. Editor Alan Gold asked if I could take it in a less jokey direction. I said sure, if I had an artist who could do exciting action... and we asked Dennis [Cowan]. I was very happy about that. Dennis and I went to lunch one afternoon, brainstormed a whole bunch of great stuff, none of which I remember...and then the book was cancelled."

"BD came back in Showcase because Neal Posner was a wonderful person and editor, liked us and our work, and wanted to give BD another shot. That didn't spark any fires, and that was the end of my/our chances with him. Since then... lots of people have done lots of crazy things with the character, none of which I'd have done."

---

And there you have it -- the most thorough review of Blue Devil v1 that you're probably going to read all day today. Final verdict: do I recommend it? If you like your comic books a little wacky with lots of action and lots of guest stars, then yeah, you will probably enjoy this one. It's an escapist series that often feels like it was meant to be a Saturday morning cartoon. If you're someone who requires heavy thought-provoking material with suspense and continuity and heavy drama -- well, I'd probably skip this series. Happy Halloween.

-Justin

-I want to thank Gary Cohn for the last-minute assist in providing a quote for this article.
-I want to thank Dan Mishkin for answering that extensive list of questions I sent him almost a year ago.
-I want to direct you to Once Upon a Geek's exclusive interview with Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn (in podcast form) if you want to hear more about Blue Devil. Great work Shaggy and Ravenface!

A review of the 1986/1987 LEGENDS mini-series

LEGENDS had begun as a follow up to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Seen mainly as a springboard for launching several new titles such as Giffen & DeMatties' run on Justice League and John Ostrander's Suicide Squad, it still stands on its own as an entertaining read.

The plot is relatively straightforward, but with enough happening in each issue to make it feel like a bigger story than the page count suggests. Darksied is scheming with Glorious Godfrey on Apokolips to destroy the so-called superhero 'legends' of earth. If he does so, it will make humanity stop believing in higher ideals and be much more susceptible to being brainwashed and taken over. The Phantom Stranger shows up and makes a bet with Darksied that humanity will never turn its back on its heroes and good will never truly be snuffed out. To carry out his plans, Darksied sends Godfrey to pose as a TV preacher, G. Gordon Godfrey, and use the media to spin the public into believing that the very existence of superheroes mocks the 'common man' and that the US Government should outlaw them.

Glorious Godfrey as outspoken pundit from LEGENDS #1 (1986).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

The public is surprisingly quick to agree with this and after a few incidents of anti-superhero mob attacks, Ronald Reagan is forced to temporarily order all heroes to cease activities for the time being.

I should point out that although it’s implied that Godfrey is somehow using New God technology to hypnotise people in to following him, it’s never outright stated as such, so what we’re left with is the fact that he was able to simply get the public to attack Batman and Robin up in a department store after they just saved them all from an armed robbery.

Fun fact: Five of the  eight characters in this panel were co-created by Gerry Conway.
Justice League Detroit (with Firestorm and Cosmic Boy) from LEGENDS #1 (1986).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Darkseid also sends out his minion Brimstone, a plasma-based skyscraping entity who fights with the Detroit-era Justice League (in a bittersweet last adventure before the end of that team), and is eventually defeated by the newly-created Suicide Squad. We get to see them in action, fighting atop Mount Rushmore.

Suicide Squad vs Brimstone from LEGENDS #3 (1987).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Ronald Reagan plays a background role, but it's a vital one; it’s his executive order to temporarily ban superheroes (in response to mass public unrest) that creates much of the drama of the series. Contemporary politicians in superhero comics is always a tricky issue -- since it instantly dates a comic book's longevity. It is rather interesting that he’s presented as an unknowing tool on behalf of Darkseid, the super-villain who Jack Kirby always equated with Richard Nixon.

The Then-President of the United States consults with Superman in LEGENDS #2 (1986)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Many heroes are affected by the ban. Captain Marvel, having been tricked by a clone of Macro- Man planted to explode when struck by lightning, believes he murdered him and is afraid to use his magic word to change from Billy Batson again. Blue Beetle is shot by a cop after he stops a criminal, thinking maybe it’s time to give up crime-fighting.

Blue Beetle being shot at by cops. From LEGENDS #2 (1986)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Guy Gardner saves an out of control plane from crashing by landing it on the freeway, and all he gets for his trouble is a bunch of angry passengers and inconvenienced motorists. Guy is atypically in control of himself in this mini, and seems like a competent, if not hot-blooded, Green Lantern. In comparison with Hal who he’s replacing, he seems like a much more exciting GL, making constructs of crazy monsters and using his power ring in clever ways like popping a small hole in an oil tank above a bad guy's head, as opposed to Hal "Giant Baseball Bat" Jordan.

Guy Gardner in all his glory! From LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

This characterization stands in contrast to the half-cocked hotshot that would be a main character in DeMatties and Giffens’s Justice League International.

Dr. Fate is watching all of these event unfold and decides that it’s time to act. He gathers Superman, Batman, Flash, Beast Boy, Guy, Black Canary, Blue Beetle and Captain Marvel for the upcoming battle.

Gang's all here! From LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

It all ends with a big showdown in Washington DC with the Dr. Fate assembled heroes versus Godfrey with his human-controlled Hunger Dogs and an army of parademons. Even Wonder Woman shows up, in her first Post-Crisis appearance in 'man's world'.

The dramatic debut of the NEW post-Crisis Wonder Woman in LEGENDS #6 (1987).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

After disposing of the mechanical hounds, Godfrey taunts the heroes that they won't dare hurt innocent, if deluded, bystanders. In the end though, it’s the innocent children who save the day by rushing to the unruly mob and telling them that the superheros are good guys after all. Godfrey strikes a child, releasing the people from his spell and turning the tide of the battle. It ends with the heroes standing around making a somewhat unrealistic speech about how although hero worship isn’t healthy, there will always be a need for people to believe in something greater than themselves. And if it wasn’t hammered enough in that this story is a religious allegory, the book ends with a quote from The Book of Ephesians.

The altruistic ending from LEGENDS #6 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

This theme -- demonstrating that the ability to influence the beliefs and values of the general public is a formidable power -- is a very common one though DC. It goes back to Jack Kirby and Darkseid’s quest for the Anti-Life Equation, all the way to the public turning on Superman in Kingdom Come (another book with heavy religious allegories), and is quite prominent in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis.

Glorious Godfrey preaching to the mob in LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Karl Kesel

Iris Allen walking home is Final Crisis #4 (2008)
Art by J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco, and Jesus Merino.

A lot of what makes LEGENDS interesting is how, in many ways, it’s the first true BIG super team-up in the wake of the new status quo. Although Guy Gardner had been seen previously, this really feels like Guy's FIRST big public debut as the Green Lantern of Earth, and I’m sure that was the intention of the writers as they introduced Guy to a whole new crop of readership.

LEGENDS is a scientific experiment that seeks to ask the question "What would the fearful and hateful humans that populate the Marvel Universe (and X-Men comics in particular) do if they where in the much more superhero-friendly DC Universe"? The answer they seem to come up with is that they would act like jerks for a while, but in the end they would revert back to their docile selves. Somewhat unfulfilling if you ask me. It should be remembered that Watchmen was coming out at the same time as this mini-series, and didn’t shy away from asking tough questions about the morality of hero worship with schmaltzy scenes with children.

This book also fulfills the promise of showcasing a 'shared universe' by incorporating the heroes from the infinite earths that where saved during Crisis On Infinite Earths. Most notably, Earth-Two's Dr. Fate, Earth-Charlton's Blue Beetle, and Earth-Fawcett's Captain Marvel/Shazam.

Captain Marvel/Shazam from LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Karl Kesel

Dr Fate! From LEGENDS #4 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

John Byrne's pencils are in top form. It’s his version of Superman straight out of the Man of Steel mini-series, right down to the sharp eyes and confident smile. It’s interesting to see him draw Captain Marvel, he even captures C.C. Beck's "squinty eyes" on him. Byrne's art totally fits for a series like this, given the time when it came out. It’s clean but not lifeless, gritty and detailed but not overly cluttered. It’s hard to tell how much of the art that comes out is Byrne's pencils or Karl Kesel's inks. I’ve heard that, as more and more work would be assigned to Byrne, he would forgo drawing backgrounds and would only stick to characters. The inker would sometimes fill in the backgrounds and other details when needed. This is the case in some of the later issues of Marvel's Alpha Flight (for example 1984's Alpha Flight #13 features an eleven page dream sequence with no words and minimal backgrounds -- a sequence I DO like by the way).

Billy Batson to Captain Marvel in LEGENDS #3 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Ultimately, I think it’s a good mini-series that deserves reading for being a bridge from Crisis On Infinite Earths to Justice League International, but I think it’s a bit simplistic in its morality. It’s just on the edge of being a mature readers book, but then it reverts back to the world of 'Peter Pan and Tinkerbell'.

The series is written by John Ostrander and Len Wein, with pencils by John Byrne and inks by Karl Kesel.



-Anthony Kuchar

The 1986 Deadman mini-series (written by Andy Helfer and illustrated by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz)

We're inching our way to Halloween, and what better time to review one of DC's most macabre super heroes? If you haven't read our review of the 1985 Deadman Deluxe Reprint series, I'd recommend you start with that (go ahead... we'll wait), because this mini-series picks up where that reprint series left off.

By the mid-to-late eighties, the 'mini-series' seemed to be DC's launch vehicle of choice for testing reader reaction to any new ongoing series they were thinking of piloting (see: Aquaman, Phantom Stranger, Peacemaker, Hawk & Dove, Shadow War of Hawkman, Red Tornado, etc). That was exactly what this was -- DC trying to determine if there was enough reader interest to merit a Deadman ongoing series. Short answer: no. 


If you're reading this article because you're curious about the life & times of Deadman, I'll give you the run-down of what happens in this mini:

Accompanied by his identical twin brother Cleveland and Batman, Boston Brand/Deadman is still recovering in Nanda Parbat after being poisoned by the Sensei. [Thankfully, later in the first issue, the reader is treated to a quick recap of everything that happened during those 1967/1969 Strange Adventures and Brave and the Bold stories leading up to this.] Rama Kushna wants Deadman to stay and become the defender of Nanda Parbat, but Deadman wants to leave and go back to the real world for a few weeks and tie up some loose ends in his former life.

Panels from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

He possesses Cleveland's body and heads back to the circus to says his good-byes. Of course, he wants to rehash his glory days as a high-flying trapeze artist... and this is when an unknown assailant assassinates him AGAIN (while he's possessing his twin brother's body). The first issue ends with Deadman bargaining with Rama Kushna for the life of his brother, Cleveland.

Panels from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

Well, here's your first spoiler: Cleveland doesn't make it. Deadman resolves to hunt down his brother's killer, and manages to do so before the end of the second issue. A new supporting character is introduced: Maxwell Loomis (aka Major Mite) -- an acrobat/clown who is also an agent of Rama Kushna's. The second issue is overflowing with exposition: we discover the origin of Rama Kushna and Nanda Parbat (and how they're connected), we learn about Rama Kushna's relationship to Deadman, and we discover that Boston Brand isn't the first person to be an agent of Rama Kushna's.

It's probably worth noting that the antagonist in this mini-series is, once again, The Sensei of the League of Assassin (but not really, though). Deadman confronts The Sensei, but it goes poorly because the League was expecting him and set a trap. Second spoiler: it is revealed that the Sensei is actually possessed by the spirit who formerly held Deadman's position as Rama Kushna's herald -- a man named Jonah -- who wants to see Rama Kushna and Nana Parbat destroyed. There's a siege and a major battle is fought.

In the fourth issue, everything gets wrapped up: Rama Kushna sacrifices herself to put an end to Jonah, the city of Nanda Parbat destroys itself, the residents of Nanda Parabat are relocated around the world, the Sensei (no longer possessed by Jonah) goes back to being a ruthless gang leader, and Deadman commits to carrying on Rama Kushna's legacy by doing good. The end.

 

Staring all the way back in 1982, Andy Helfer was best known as an editor at DC comics (Atari Force, Green Lantern, Super Powers, Justice League of America), and the Deadman mini-series was some of his first writing/plotting/scripting for DC.

I can appreciate what Helfer was trying to do here -- part of being a writer and wanting to tell a story sometimes means wiping out everything the previous guy built so you can have a clean slate to work from. To this effect, Helfer effectively wiped out EVERYTHING Neil Adams had engineered (i.e., Rama Kushna, Nana Parbat, twin brother Cleveland, etc) from his run on Deadman back in the late sixties.

In the first issue's letter column, Helfer confirmed that he was a bonafide Deadman fan, and has vivid memories of picking up those Neal Adams' illustrated Strange Adventures stories right off of the spinner rack. He was heartbroken when the Deadman run came to an end, and added "seemed to me at the time, though, that it never actually did end -- that we left poor Boston right in the MIDDLE of his biggest adventure yet -- an adventure that saw print, oddly enough, as a Batman team-up in BRAVE AND THE BOLD." Sure enough, it was revealed to Helfer by Dick Giordano that the ending was rushed and condensed to fit into a twenty-page format because "it would be Dick's LAST opportunity to do a full-length Deadman story." Helfer even mentions that while he was Special Projects Editor under Joe Orlando, he'd longed to ask Neal Adams about that ending, but never got the chance. According to Helfer, it was Dick Giordano's idea to finish the original Deadman story after seeing the sales for the Deluxe Reprint Format series. Giordano's only request was that the new mini-series picks up where the original reprints left off.

Helfer did a few things in this mini that answered a few unsolved mysteries the original Strange Adventures issues had set up but never resolved -- namely, why Deadman couldn't possess the Sensei (because he was already being possessed by Jonah), who occupies the hidden city of Nana Pandut (the world's most evil beings), and what Rama Kushna's whole deal was (a misguided deity who was doing more harm than good). The mini-series concludes with all of the former Nana Pandut residents being scattered across the globe, and Deadman needing to re-collect them -- hence creating a plot device for an ongoing series.

Panel from Deadman v2 #3 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

I suppose the biggest concern here -- for continuity cops, anyways -- was that resolving a 1968 Deadman story nearly 20 years later kind of messes up the continuity of everything that's happened between now and then. Helfer acknowledges this in the letter column of the first issue, and promises to provide readers with a list of all the Deadman stories that get retconned out of existence in the last issue, and then -- probably due to deadlines -- decides that readers should do their homework and submit which stories they think should be retconned instead (and hey... Crisis on Infinite Earths was still fresh in everyone's minds, so Helfer could probably get away with it). This was all preceded by Helfer gently reminding fans to write to DC if they'd like to see an ongoing Deadman series.


I was delightfully surprised to discover that Garcia-Lopez had illustrated this mini-series. Either I already knew this and forgot, or just never knew.

Page from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

I mainly know of Garcia-Lopez' work from the 1982 DC Style Guide and from any promotional art associated with the Super Powers Collection action figures. I had no clue he could draw this fiercely. I'm understanding why he's considered to be a living legend.

splash page from Deadman v2 #3 (1986).  Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

panels from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

Page from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

Xeroxed copies of the first issue were sent out in advanced to selected readers so they'd have something to print in the third issue's letter column. A few readers who wrote in said they were kinda lost as to what was going on in the mini-series since they were a little unfamiliar with the intricate details of Deadman, and some pointed out things that didn't make logical sense. Even Mike Baron chimed in:

In 1986, Mike Baron would've been working on Nexus for First Comics.
Baron would end up writing a Deadman one-shot in 1989 for DC comics.

I was really expecting Deadman to be searching for his brother's killer throughout the entire mini-series, but that quickly got resolved by the second issue. I'm glad that Helfer introduced an even BIGGER threat to Deadman -- a villain who is also incorporeal and can play in the same league as Deadman. Deadman's a ghost, so it's a little difficult to have an opponent who can physically harm him. In later Deadman stories, his biggest opponents will be falling in love and loneliness.

One of the reasons I don't think this mini-series 'picked up' with fans is because Deadman doesn't play well as a solo character. (Batman appearing for the first seven pages for the first issue was kind of a tease, because he doesn't appear again in this mini.) Deadman NEEDS other 'established' DC characters to star alongside him. He's not interesting enough to support a book by his lonesome. I would, however, love to see this reprinted -- with nice crisp colors -- just so we can enjoy that Garcia-Lopez artwork again. As you can probably imagine, my copy is pretty worn.

To me, the 1986 Deadman mini-series will always be infamous for having a house ad that terrified me as a child. I literally could not even look at this page too long (I was a pretty squeamish kid). The look of anguish on Boston Brand's face(s) was just so horrific that it frightened me very much.

Justin

USENET fandom - Crisis on Captive Earth and the true identity of "Satan Girl"

About a year ago, there was a semi-regular feature here at DC in the 80's called Usenet Fandom... wherein I would dredge up forum posts about comics from the prehistoric internet and, with my own superpower of "hindsight" proceed to dissect and analyze them... making us "future folks" feel quite a bit smarter than all those college students pulling up BBS's and newsgroups via primitive modems.
As I often do, I found myself getting sidetracked... and eventually lost my way with the feature.

Well... let's give it another go, shall we?

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Today we're going to discuss the blockbuster follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths... Crisis on Captive Earth! Wait, what?!

In a missive titled, "The 'Next' CRISIS?" on January 28 1986, Usenetter "Mr. B", says:

We'll discuss Crisis on Captive Earth in a bit more detail below, however... this is a portion of the text page from Secret Origins #2 (May, 1986) Mr. B is talking about:

I'll agree somewhat with Mr. B, the origin story was perhaps a bit hokey... but, very likely contorted to fit the existing plot.  The text-piece in the back of the issue discusses the entire history of the character (and plenty of neat Charlton Comics information!). That being said, perhaps DC was trying to tie everything in as neatly as possible. This doesn't always make for the snappiest or most exciting story, but it works.

Gil Kane's artwork here, while not bad... sort of dates the book, and makes it feel much older than it is. I have similar feelings anytime I read pre-Crisis "Trial era" Flash comics with Carmine Infantino on art. Mr. B is mistaken as to the penciller on the Blue Beetle ongoing... that would be Paris Cullins (though, Chuck Patton did draw issue #10).

Crisis on Captive Earth, eh? Well, research indicates that you and I might know this maxi-series better as Crisis of the Soul! Hmm, still nothin' huh? Okay... Crisis on Captive Earth became... Crisis of the Soul... which then became... Legends!

Per Amazing Heroes #62 (January 1, 1985) which served as their 1985 Preview issue, this story was originally envisioned to take place in a twelve-issue maxi-series by Paul Levitz, Len Wein, and Jerry Ordway. Legends would only run six issues, and would feature Wein, as well as John Ostrander and John Byrne in the creators' chairs... and it's finished product may have only matched the scrapped maxis in when it would start hitting store shelves.

Jerry Ordway offered the following:

"The Crisis sequel was Crisis of the Soul, and featured the Corruptors from Legion continuity, I think. It was meant to be very personal to the heroes, showing them the darkness and having them deal with it and reject it or not. The Corruptors basically quarantine the Earth and that’s all I remember off the top of my head. Paul Levitz and I plotted out the main beats, and it was all set to go, until the editor ran into resistance from the other editors who didn’t want to have to cross over with it. Then when the editors changed, I bowed out. It became Legends, but it was fairly different from what we originally planned."

A piece from TwoMorrows Publishing's wonderful Back Issue #9 sheds a bit of light on this subject. The two-pages included below come from their free-preview of the issue... they always put out great work, and are well worth your time.

From Back Issue #9 (2003)

Whoop... Legion of Super-Heroes stuff. That really puts me at a disadvantage. Let's see what we might be able to unpack here without much in the way of context. Satan Girl, from what I have deduced, was created as a dark-mirror of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) when she had been exposed to Red Kryptonite while on an adventure in the 30th Century.

Adventure Comics #313 (October, 1963)

Since Red-K was no longer a "thing", post-Crisis, this character went away... very quickly, in fact (more on that in a bit) that is, until Zero Hour where she shows up to give the Legionnaires grief as a time anomaly. Not sure why Mr. B included this bit, but I'm pretty glad he did.

For completist's sake, here are a couple of replies I was able to locate... surprisingly, none of which add anything to the CRISIS talk... it's all Satan Girl here...

On February 2, 1986, "CF" answered in a post titled "Sensor Girl=Satan Girl" with:

On February 5, 1986, "TY" followed up with:

So from this, I gather that Satan Girl only lasted the one story... again... not sure why Mr. B included this... but it was a fun education regardless!

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That's all we've got for this installment. I hope folks enjoyed this... and as always, if you have any additions or corrections, please do not hesitate to write-in! Thanks for reading!


-Chris Sheehan

Can't wait for the next installment in this series of articles? For more of Chris Sheehan, check out his highly recommended Chris is on Infinite Earths blog. He also co-hosts the very excellent Cosmic Treadmill podcast with Reggie Hancock!