5 Questions With Paul Kupperberg

Paul Kupperberg is one of the most accomplished comic book writers of all time, and you couldn't go a month in the 1980s without seeing Paul's name on a DC Comic. Paul is also a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction books, and his latest is an exciting Kickstarter called Direct Creativity: The Creators who Inspired the Creators. 

Direct Creativity is a collection of new one-on-one talks with 18 comic book creators about the people, comics, books, movies, and television that sparked and inspired them and drove them to create. The line-up of talent includes D.G. Chichester, Mike Collins, Gerry Conway, Mike DeCarlo, J.M. DeMatteis, Dan DiDio, Marc Guggenheim, Joe Illidge, Barbara Kaalberg, Tom King, Mark Millar, Mindy Newell, Mike Avon Oeming, Chuck Patton, Christopher J. Priest, Rick Stasi, Roy Thomas, and Mark Waid. You can find the link to the Kickstarter at RIGHT HERE or at https://kck.st/3ugsnCr. 

Paul was kind enough to answer 5 questions for Mark Belkin of DC in the 80's about creativity and working at DC comics in the 1980's. On to the interview!

Multiverse Birthing Like What What <3.

QUESTION 1

Mark: Your new Kickstarter is a book asking 18 creators "Who, or what, inspired you most in your development as a comic book creator?" I would like to ask you, who, or what, inspired your work at DC in the 1980s? And did that change from the books you worked on in the beginning of the decade to the ones you worked on at the end?

Paul: My inspirations are baked in from childhood and they haven’t changed, although there have certainly been countless additions to them since. But early on I discovered the Mort Weisinger era Superman comics, The Adventures of Superman TV show, the Fleischer Popeye cartoons, the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs...really, if it was on TV or in the movies or on the newsstands, I was fair game. Jules Feiffer’s 1965 The Great Comic Book Heroes, which reprinted for the first time ever a bunch of Golden Age DC, Timely, and Quality stories was massively influential, and it was the book that made me aware that human beings could actually make comic books for a living. Mind blown!

For a lot of fans of my vintage, their holy trinity is Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, and while I liked their stuff too, mine was Julie Schwartz, Carmine Infantino, and Gil Kane. Those were my guys and I studied everything they did. And it was a reprint of “The Flash of Two Worlds” from The Flash #123 (June 1961) in a 1965 Flash Annual that made me not just a reader, but a fan for life because the newspaper the Barry Allen Flash picks up once he’s crossed the dimensional barrier and is in Keystone City is dated “June 14, 1961.” June 14 is my birthday. The Multiverse was born on my birthday!

A classic Doom Patrol continuation by Paul and the wonderful Joe Staton.

QUESTION 2

Mark: Who were some artists that you really enjoyed working with at DC in the 1980s? Any fun stories you'd like to share?

Paul: I got into comics in 1975, when the business was just 40 years old, so a lot of the people who created the comic book industry were not only still alive but still active...DC’s then president and production manager Sol Harrison had done color separations on Famous Funnies #1 and Action Comics #1! So I loved when my stories would be drawn by guys I grew up reading, like Irv Novick, Curt Swan, Kurt Schaffenberger, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Steve Ditko, Jerry Grandenetti, Dick Ayers, Jose Delbo, or Don Heck, but it was also cool to be paired with the new guys, like Don Newton, Marshall Rogers, Romeo Tanghal, Alex Saviuk, Howard Chaykin, and, of course, my friend and collaborator in every decade since the 1970s, Joe Staton.

QUESTION 3

Mark: Were there any team ups you wish you could have written in DC Comics Presents? Who would have been the artists?

Paul: I can’t really think of any unrealized DCCP team-ups at the time. I was fortunate, I suppose. Schwartz bought all the stories I pitched him for the title and would also throw team-ups he wanted to do my way. He even bought a Superman/Vigilante crossover from me (DCCP #92), which was I think, the only time a character from a non-Code series ever appeared in the book.

 Darkseid is so much bigger than everyone. Seems like an unfair fight.

QUESTION 4

Mark:  What was it like writing the second Super Powers series? Working with Jack Kirby? And having to write for such a huge tie and cartoon tie in? Dealing with Kenner?

Paul: Writing the second Super Powers series was fun. I approached the story like a 1960s Justice League of America adventure by breaking the heroes up into teams and sending them off on their individual odysseys before reuniting at the end to confront the bad guy. JLA was a favorite title of mine growing up in the ‘60s, so I was paying homage to that. I wish I could say I actually worked WITH Jack Kirby on that one, but when I wrote the scripts, I didn’t know he would be drawing them. Of course, I was thrilled when I found out it would him, but we never had any contact during the project. I handed in the scripts and Jack drew them as I wrote them. 

I didn’t think of Super Powers as a licensing tie-in, like I did when I’d written the Masters of the Universe comics for DC a few years. These were the same DC characters I’d been writing for a decade and reading for 15 years before that. I never had to deal with Kenner. That’s what editors are for, but I don’t recall any problems or feedback from them on my stuff.

QUESTION 5

Mark: Writing complicated people is challenging. In the 1980s you wrote a few, such as Robotman, Peacemaker, Vigilante, Phantom Stranger, and Negative Woman. What mindset did you have during that era when writing someone like them?

Paul: The first decade of my work is all pretty much straight forward superhero pablum, a little less simplistic than the 1960s stuff but still pretty basic. In the 1980s, when I started working on comics about characters who were just regular people like Vigilante and the Checkmate cast, I realized that I’d been using superpowers as a crutch, to avoid writing about the characters themselves. 

Ambush Bug, A Hero's Beginnings

BONUS QUESTION 6

Mark: Please tell us about your experience in writing Ambush Bug's first story with the beloved Keith Giffen. 

Paul: Not much to tell. I went in to plot an issue of DC Comics Presents with editor Julie Schwartz and he’d invited Keith to sit in on the story conference. It was pretty unusual in my experience to have the artist in the room, but I didn’t have any problem with it. I said I wanted to do a Doom Patrol story and when we started talking about a villain, Keith said he had an idea, although the character wasn’t exactly a bad guy. He described Ambush Bug to us as “Bugs Bunny with a teleportation device” and I was sold on the spot.

Mark: Thank you Paul. Good luck on your Kickstarter!!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/writingcomics/direct-creativity  

Reviewing the 1988 Peacemaker mini-series

While the 1983 Vigilante ongoing series kept most of us on the edge of our seats (let's not even mention the ending), it was during writer Paul Kupperberg's tenure that new and not-so-new characters (ex: Harry Stein, Valentina Vostok/Negative Woman, Black Thorn, Harvey Bullock, The Agency, etc) would be introduced to the title in preparation for the upcoming Kupperverse Paul was gradually building. Most surprising -- to old school Charlton Comics fans, anyways -- would've been the very dramatic re-introduction of Peacemaker to the modern DC Universe.

Vigilante #36 (1986). Mike Grell cover. This would've been an instant 'buy' for me if I had seen it on the shelves.

Then

Created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette, Peacemaker first appeared in 1966's Fightin' 5 v1 #40 published by Charlton Comics. In an 8-page back-up feature, the reader is introduced to Christopher Smith: an American peace diplomat... who moonlights as Peacemaker: a man who loves peace so much that he's willing to fight for it. Fun Fact: a 'Peacemaker' is also another name used for the Colt Single Action Army revolver and was the standard US military service revolver in the late 1800s.

Panels from Fightin' 5 v1 #40 (1966).

Fightin' 5 was cancelled after issue #41. Peacemaker then headlined his own 1967 ongoing series -- which lasted a total of 5 issues. Christopher Smith was depicted as a suave peace envoy (with a direct line to the White House) who used tools of diplomacy to resolve global conflicts before they could escalate. When that failed, he became the Peacemaker. This was a last resort, of course. Smith HATES war and violence.

Peacemaker #4 (1967). Charlton comics.

Typically, the threats came from a communist country wielding an atomic-powered whatever, but this was during the mid-to-late sixties, and the Cold War was all anybody was talking about anyways. Peacemaker's weapons played a bit more on the sci-fi side: jetpacks, a helmet with a laser on it, some sort of gizmo that can scramble enemy missile commands, and more that I'm forgetting -- all of these were Smith's own inventions. Try to image if James Bond secretly slipped into a costume to battle villains and you've got Peacemaker.

Peacemaker #4 (1967). Charlton comics.

A bit more of Peacemaker's history was expounded on in his 4th issue: he operates out of a Chateau (location never specified), his father was an army officer turned statesman, his mother was a laboratory researchist, he's a brilliant inventor who has helped the United States on numerous occasions... and his major motivation for all this?

Peacemaker #4 (1967). Charlton comics. What an altruistic guy!

Surprisingly, for such a fondly-remembered character, Peacemaker only appeared in eight Chartlon Comics issues -- yet was still considered to be among the Charlton Action-Heroes line-up. I could've sworn he was a member of Americomics' Sentinels of Justice in 1983 with the rest of the Action-Heroes, but apparently he didn't make the cut.

I was hoping to discover that Paul Kupperberg was one of the original writers for Peacemaker and this would've all been tied into a neat lil' serendipitous bow -- but alas, that is not the case. For anyone wondering: Kupperberg had indeed written for Charlton Comics... but it was in 1976...and it was only for supernatural anthology titles (i.e., Haunted, Ghostly Haunts, Ghost Manor).

Now (well,... the mid-to-late eighties)

If you had only started reading comics in the early 80s, Peacemaker would've been a totally NEW character to you. Prior to this, you might've spotted him in a few panels of the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series, but the three-issue story arc in Vigilante #36 - 38 allowed Kupperberg a chance to flesh out this relatively obscure character to a brand new audience -- and what we got was a completely different Peacemaker from the version Charlton Comics fans grew up reading. He still has an arsenal of advanced weaponry, but now he's a little... 'unhinged'. He's a 'counter-terrorism freelancer' who loves peace enough to KILL for it. He has no hesitation blowing off a terrorist's head at point-blank range. Collateral damage is not an issue to him, he'll even fire on allies if it means getting the job done -- he's pragmatic like that.

panels from Vigilante #36 (1986)

In his first post-Crisis appearance, Peacemaker has gone AWOL and intercepts a hostage situation facilitated by Arab terrorists. His employer (the Agency) worries that he's a liability and wants him terminated. The machinations of these circumstances leads to an impromptu team-up with Adrian Chase. Absent is the debonair persona of Christopher Smith, and instead we get a disheveled civil servant who's apparently constantly talking to himself. Kupperberg makes a point to demonstrate what a loose-cannon Peacemaker is, and we are treated to gratuitous displays of Christopher Smith dispensing hot lead and pro-Americana slogans. Remember: Vigilante was a direct market title -- meaning that it was not available on newsstands and could only be obtained if you went to a comic book shop or ordered a subscription -- so the creative team could get away with a little more violence and mature content than would usually be found in a DC title.

panels from Vigilante #36 (1986)

This story arc must've been popular, because Peacemaker returned for another three-issue story arc in Vigilante #41 - 43. There's a lot more emphasis on just how mentally unstable the Peacemaker is -- he's having full-on conversations with his helmet, and is convinced there's some sort of conspiracy against him (which is his main driving reason to return to New York City and kill members of the Agency).

panel from Vigilante #41 (1987).

We get a bit more insight into Peacemaker's relationship with his helmet -- he's guided by the voices of the souls he executed and this seems to drive him on his quest for vengeance. After a narrow defeat, the story arc concludes with Peacemaker being detained.

Kupperberg's re-invention of Peacemaker as a 'take-no-prisoners patriotic killing-machine' was kind of an extreme parody of the blockbuster Hollywood action heroes of the time combined with a healthy dose of Reagan Era American flag-waving patriotism mixed in. During the 1980s, the United States' foreign policy was largely centered around winning the Cold War and ending communism, and the courageous muscle-bound American soldier single-handedly mowing down all of America's enemies with a large assault rifle (think: Sylvester Stallone in Rambo, etc) had pretty much become the people's hero. Kupperberg kept Vigilante grounded in reality and based many of his storylines on current events -- plane hijackings were the terrorist operation du jour (there were eight international plane hijacking between 1984 and 1985) -- and the infamous Karachi Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking occurred the same month that Vigilante #36 was printed.

Vigilante #42 (1987). Again with the "commies". sigh.

Which bring us to our feature presentation:

Peacemaker #1 (1988). Cover by Tod Smith.

If you were hoping that this 1988 mini-series would be the continuing adventures of a seriously damaged anti-hero, you'd be sorely disappointed. [And, admittedly, that would've made a great mini-series.]

Writer Paul Kupperberg and illustrator Tod Smith rejoin forces (this time with inks by Pablo Marcos) to bring us a new chapter in the life of Christopher Smith and picks up right after we left off in Vigilante #43.  While his appearances in Vigilante made Peacemaker out to be a morally reprehensible character, this mini-series paints him as a tragic hero who emotionally feels the toll of each life he didn't save from terrorism.

panel from Peacemaker #1 (1988). Pencils by Tod Smith, inks by Pablo Marcos.

What about his deranged extremist behavior in the pages of Vigilante? That's all explained away in two panels:

panels from Peacemaker #1 (1988). Pencils by Tod Smith, inks by Pablo Marcos.

I'm just going to re-iterate that the Christopher Smith/Peacemaker in this mini-series is a VERY different man from the one we saw in Vigilante; he runs something called the Pax Institute [some sort of humanitarian organization?], he feels guilt about not stopping terrorism fast enough, he lives like a billionaire in the Swiss Alps, he doesn't want to take human lives if he can help it, and those deceased souls he collects in his helmet that talk to him? That's done with. Instead, he's got a different type of psychological demon to confront. In a way, this is more like the Charlton Comics version of the character -- but he's still got residual mental issues.

panels from Peacemaker #3 (1988). Pencils by Tod Smith, inks by Pablo Marcos.

Seeing as how Peacemaker's modus operandi is stopping terrorism, this mini-series revolves around him trying to foil a large-scale international terrorist plot being spearheaded by none other than Doctor Tzin-Tzin -- all while battling his own personal demons, of course. [In case you were wondering, Doctor Tzin-Tzin appeared in the mid-sixties as a Batman villain, and was more or less played up as a Fu Manchu knock-off. Last seen in a 1977 Batman story.]  This is reminiscent of Peacemaker's earlier Charlton adventures in which he dealt with international threats.

panel from Peacemaker #1 (1988). Doctor Tzin-Tzin!

Kupperberg goes to great care to add details about Peacemaker's elaborately revised origin by including correspondences between various high-ranking officials at the end of each issue. These are actually pretty long and tedious reads, but they reveal how Christopher Smith became an anti-terrorist commando, we learn of something called PROJECT: PEACEMAKER and we get the full details on his support staff.

It was obvious that this mini was a pilot to see how an ongoing series would fare, and since an ongoing didn't happen we can only assume it didn't generate enough interest. [As far as I know, it was never reprinted, either.] To be honest, I had a bit of trouble maintaining interest in this mini -- it's heavy with international politics and seems extremely topical for the time it was written. Kupperberg is no stranger to writing about international political intrigue (see: Checkmate!), and -- from an 80s historical revisionist perspective -- rehashing the Cold War is kinda cool, but I just couldn't get into it and the plot kinda confused me.

The art was okay -- lots of action sequences and the pacing was steady. The biggest surprise in this mini (for me, anyways) was the inclusion of Doctor Tzin-Tzin as the main antagonist -- mainly because he was a villain in one of the first Batman comics I owned. By 1988, I'm not sure if Tzin-Tzin was considered to be an offensive racial stereotype or just one of those Z-list DCU villains everyone had forgotten about, but it was entertaining to see this long-forgotten Batman villain appear in a modern story.

Batman v1 #285 (1977). Jim Aparo/Tatjana Wood cover

It kind of boggles my mind that the SAME WRITER could revamp a character so dramatically. I'd understand if it was a new writer who decided to undo everything Kupperberg had previously done, but frankly I thought the 'psycho' Peacemaker as seen in Vigilante would've made for a much more interesting character to read about. Don't get me wrong -- I still love the idea of Peacemaker, but this mini left thirty-something year old me a little underwhelmed. I'm sure 10 year-old me would've purchased it, regardless.

I've dwelled on it a bit more and decided that the reason I wasn't so keen on this mini was because Peacemaker seemed isolated from the rest of the DCU. Other than an obscure Batman villain (last seen in the late seventies) and an appearance from Harry Stein, there was no real connection to the DC universe -- no mention of Superman, the Teen Titans or anything, really. I realize that Kupperberg was trying to build a foundation for his own universe of characters, but there was no need for Peacemaker to exist in a vacuum. Maybe he could have had other Kupperverse chararcters appear? I don't think Peacemaker was interesting enough on his own to keep an ongoing series going. As we saw, Peacemaker works MUCH better when he's accompanied with other established heroes (see: Janus Directive and Eclipso series)

The Vigilante was not MY first introduction to Peacemaker -- it was from an old, tattered copy of Who's Who that my parents let me buy at a flea market one Sunday afternoon. I would've been around nine or ten years old at the time and probably didn't read his bio unless it was to check if he was a 'good guy' or 'bad guy'. To be quite frank with you, it was adoration at first sight. How could a 10 year old who played with G.I. Joes not be drawn in by a gun-wielding super-soldier with a radar dish for a helmet? And his radar dish helmet emits a sonic wave attack? And he flies around with a jetpack? Damn. Needless to say, I have a fondness for this character.

This wasn't the end of Peacemaker, however. He would re-appear in Checkmate! and appear sporadically across the DCU shortly thereafter.

A few 80s moments:

It wouldn't be a Paul Kupperberg mini-series without a Ronald Reagan appearance:

panel from Peacemaker #4 (1988)

Or how about that Berlin Wall? (cue up Scorpions' "Winds of Change")

panels from Peacemaker #4 (1988).

A brief overview of DC's Super Powers v1, v2 and v3 mini-series' from DC comics [1984 - 1986]

House ad for 1984 Super Powers mini-series

In 1984, DC comics published a 5 issue mini-series to accompany the Super Powers Collection toy line released by Kenner that same year. Written by Joey Cavalieri and illustrated by Adrian Gonzales (with inks from Pablo Marcos), the characters featured in this mini-series are coincidentally the 12 action figures released for the 1st wave of the toy line -- which leads me to believe that the main goal of this mini-series was to act as a cross-promotional strategy. [This makes sense since both G.I. Joe and Transformers were each tied in with a Marvel Comics title and their toy lines were both quite successful.]

DC comics ad for 1st wave of Super Powers Collection action figures.

This mini-series manages to tie a few pieces of silver-age DCU history into the storyline leading the reader to wonder if it's part of DC continuity (pre-Crisis). For example, several characters held onto their silver age origins, yet Lex Luthor and Brainiac were completely redesigned by George Pérez and Ed Hannigan for the toy line (as they appear in this mini-series). Additionally, certain elements of the Super Powers universe were "borrowed" from the Hanna-Barbera Super Friends cartoon that ran from 1973 to 1982 [ex: the Hall of Justice, which started off as the main HQ for the Super Friends, makes an appearance]. The whole story has a "Silver Age" feel to it and comes complete with a big reveal at the end in regards to who the mysterious antagonist is.

A second six-issue mini-series is published in 1985 and is set after the Hunger Dogs graphic novel. The second mini-series was written by Paul Kupperberg and illustrated by Jack Kirby (inked by Greg Theakston). Like its predecessor, this mini-series takes special attention to spotlight the new characters (and a few vehicles) being released in the wave 2 of the toy line. This second wave of the toy line was notable for including re-designed versions of Kirby’s Fourth World characters (Darkseid, Desaad, Mantis, Parademon, Kalibak, Steppenwolf) and Kirby manages to stay faithful to their toy line appearance throughout the mini-series*. Each issue ends with a bio of the characters who appeared in the issue, so once again I’m going to assume that this series was heavily marketed towards consumers who would be buying the toys. If you have no other reason to check out this second mini-series, do so because it's a Kirby-illustrated Justice League of America story (really, the Super Powers team IS the JLA, just under a different name).

Super Powers v2 #3 (1985) - Kirby's Mantis gets a redesign 

A final Super Powers mini-series was published in 1986, and takes place sometime after the second mini-series. By this point, it's safe to say that the comics were separate from the rest of DC continuity. The 3rd mini-series was (again) written by Paul Kupperberg and has a bit more 'depth' to it. Kirby did not pencil this mini-series, but Carmine Infantino did. The Fourth World characters are once again faithfully drawn as they appear in the toy line (note: Orion looks ridiculous) and the series features gratuitous appearances of the vehicles from the toy line (look up the justice jogger if you ever get a chance -- totally worth it). By this point, new characters specifically created by Kenner for this toy line are beginning to appear -- including one named 'Janus’ who is never released as a figure. Rumor has it that by this time the toy line was struggling and a Darkseid-themed playset was also in the works but was never released, so there’s a good chance an extra character may have met this fate as well. Kenner ceased the Super Powers Collection toy line after 1986 and no fourth mini-series was ever published. You can read more about the history and final days of Kenner's Super Power Collection at: http://kennersuperpowers.com/.

Super Power v3 #2 (1986) - Golden Pharaoh and Shazam with a gratuitous shot of the toyline vehicles in the background

*Jack Kirby received royalties for his redesigned Fourth World characters. This is notable because Kirby never received royalties on all of the other Marvel Comics characters he co-created (Fantastic Four, Hulk, original X-Men, original Avengers, etc…).

-Justin

[This article originally posted on our tumblr in July 2013.]

Paul Kupperberg talks about the 1988 Checkmate! ongoing series

Paul Kupperberg was a busy man in the 1980s. He wrote most of the Arion, Lord of Atlantis ongoing series, the last 24 issues of Vigilante, the first 18 issues of Doom Patrol v2, the entire Supergirl v2 ongoing series, so many Superman-related stories that we can't list them all here, and a run of Green Lantern Corps back-up tales in Green Lantern v1. (Not to mention other projects he touched on.) Most importantly, Kupperberg wrote all 33 issues of 1988's Checkmate! ongoing series. Checkmate! was a little unconventional for a DC book - it was a mix of covert operations and espionage, it re-used characters from Vigilante and Doom Patrol v2, and didn't really interact with the rest of the DCU. It was a NEW FORMAT book and kind of crept below reader's radars because it was only available in comic book shops. I had never even heard of it until about a decade ago. Needless to say, it acquired a cult following and those who like it, like it a lot.

This is an aggregate of two different interviews with Paul Kupperberg. The first, by Aaron "Head" Moss, was recorded on 2016 in his Task Force X: Episode 19 podcast. The Task Force X podcast mainly concerns itself with John Ostrander's Suicide Squad and Kupperberg's Checkmate! comics. If you're into either of those, I'd recommend you check his podcast out.

On with the first interview:

[as per usual, I've mangled the continuity of this interview so it makes logical sense to the reader -editor]


Aaron "Head" Moss: After Vigilante ended, shortly thereafter, Checkmate! started up with a couple of the characters from the Vigilante book. Who's idea was it - who came up with the idea of Checkmate!?... Was it your idea to continue it? Or was it...?

Paul Kupperberg: The whole idea was that "we'll end Vigilante and come up with something to replace it on your schedule". I was kind of looking around and saw that DC didn't really have a central spy agency at the time. I'd been playing around with those kind of ideas - the whole espionage idea - in Vigilante. [We] just decided to take it to the next step and take all the people involved in the espionage end of what was going on in Vigilante and transfer them into Checkmate into an actual sanctioned group. It came under Amanda Waller's command - she was running Suicide Squad/Task Force X.

Moss: You had Black Thorn, Harry Stein, Harvey [Bullock], seems like everyone that was directly involved with the end of Vigilante came over to Checkmate!. Looking in different places I'm seeing that you're credited with it, I see that John Byrne is credited with help creating it because they first appeared in Action Comics #598 (1988).

Kupperberg: The genesis was: I wrote the proposal. John [Byrne] is a friend of mine. We asked him "would you mind if we exploited your name by having you [develop] a character", he said "no no, not at all, do I get lunch out of it?" So yeah, we bought him lunch, and at lunch we sat down and looked over the proposal. We just talked about the 'look' of the knight costumes. He did this sketch in a sketch book and that was it. Steve Erwin took that (and the proposal) and designed the headquarters and the characters and all that stuff. [You can read about Erwin's recollection of it here. -editor]

Moss: So the [Checkmate] knight costume... that was you? Or you and John [Byrne] that came up with the idea for the Knight costume?

Kupperberg: It was mostly John [Byrne]. Some of it is kind of self-evident: you're doing a knight costume, so you're going to need someone with some kind of helmet-thing going on. He's also a spy, so you're going to want to keep it dark. The gauntlet and the staff that expanded. So, y'know, kind of riffing off of the whole 'Knight' theme.

A Checkmate Knight in action. Checkmate! v1 #1 (1988)

Moss: Out of all the Checkmate! stories was there a favorite storyline you had in that?  Was there anything that stands out that you look back and go "Damn, I did a good job on that".

Kupperberg: There was a bunch of back-ups I remember - Randy Duburk drew a few of them - those were pretty good. That was later on in the series.

Checkmate v1 #33 - Randy Duburk art

Especially at the beginning, I like the first few issues a lot. I was really pushing it and trying to be ambitious and tell these big stories. And I think I was very successful in accomplishing what I set out to do. Whether or not anybody liked it, that's a whole other story.

Moss: There was that cross-over with Suicide Squad: the Janus Directive. How closely did you and John Ostrander work on the title? Was it just a cross-over?

Kupperberg: It was pretty much a cross-over - as I recall the idea of that cross-over was mostly John [Ostrander]'s. I guess he worked on it with his editor. Johnathon Peterson was my editor. I think Bob Greenberger was editing Suicide Squad at the time.

As I recall I wasn't involved too deeply in the plotting of the overall story arc. I was responsible for the stories in Checkmate!. It was mostly a Suicide Squad story, it seemed to me. I think it started there and ended there as well.

Moss: It crossed over with Firestorm v2, which was written by John [Ostrander], Captain Atom v1 and a few other titles John [Ostrander] was writing.

It seemed mostly like a John Ostrander storyline. But I know that Checkmate! was involved because Suicide Squad and Checkmate, as I said, are different sides of the same coin. I wasn't sure how involved you were with the cross-over...if John [Ostrander] was like "This is what I want you to do" and you went [off] and did your own little thing with it.

Kupperberg: Yeah, that was pretty much it - to my recollection. Yeah.

Moss: So the series ended. Before it ended, did you tell the stories you wanted to tell? Were there other stories that you wanted to?

Kupperberg: Oh sure, there's always more stories to tell - except in the case of something like Vigilante where obviously we exhausted - you often hear "we're cancelling this title because we think we've ran out of stories to tell with this character". No.  If you have, then you've got a problem. Because there's always more stories to tell about any character. No, it was a matter of sales. What'd it last? 33 issues? Not too bad.

Moss: Were there any stories that you wanted to tell but DC editorial told you 'no'. Or were you pretty much given free reign on it?

Kupperberg: I go into these things knowing the parameters I'm working. I'm not going to try to shove a story down their throats when it's clearly inappropriate to the book. We were a regular non-labelled DCU title, so those were the stories I was going to tell. Vigilante, when we got the mature label, I went ahead and pushed the limits a little. I don't try to do rape stories in Superman. Not appropriate.

Moss:  Was there any characters you wanted to include in this Checkmate! comic that editorial told you 'no'. You said you knew you were getting into and you wrote to that title. So I wasn't sure if there were any characters you wanted to use as a guest appearance or anything that DC editorial said 'no we can't do that' or was there [anyone] you asked for and they said 'go for it'? 

Kupperberg: I don't think I used that many other DCU characters in the title. Again, I was trying to keep it reality-based. Even with the Janus Directive, nothing wrong with the stories or anything, but they're my least favorite of the whole run. Just because, again, I was trying to keep it 'in the reality', and once you bring in superheroes reality flies out the window. No matter how hard you try - I know everybody thinks "our heroes reflect the real world". But they DON'T. They CAN'T. You're not constrained by reality. A death doesn't have any emotional impact because you know they're coming back next month. If somebody's in a corner, you know they're going to pull the ultimate nullifier out of their ass and send Galactus packing. Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby], the greatest run of any comic book ever - the first 100 issues of Fantastic Four v1 - smack dab in the middle you have the Galactus epic. They're at the height of their power - the greatest team on the greatest run of a comic ever - and they're forced to pull the ultimate nullifier to send Galactus on his way. So it doesn't matter how good it gets, you're hemmed in by the lack of reality. You gotta go there. Once you bring superheroes in, as soon as someone can fly, you're screwed. Then anything goes.

Moss: If asked, would you be willing to come back to Checkmate!? Or do you have any more Checkmate! stories hidden in your mind somewhere?

Kupperberg: I would absolutely love to get my hands on the characters and on the concept again. No, I don't have any stories at the moment. My job is to come up with stories when I have assignments for these things. Stories are not the problem.

---

The Task Force X podcast also interviewed Kupperberg about his work on the Vigilante series and why the series ended. You can read the interview here.

Aaron "Head" Moss, a major G.I. Joe enthusiast, also co-hosts the G.I. Joe: A Real American Headcast and has been a guest on our 1991 G.I. Joe Impel trading card set review. He also hosts the Starman/Manhunter Adventure Hour which covers both the 'Will Payton' Starman ongoing series and the 'Mark Shaw' Manhunter ongoing series (circa late 1980s).

----

In an April 2nd, 2014 interview on VOC Nation's Compton After Dark podcast show, host Dean Compton spoke with Paul Kupperberg:

Dean: In your Checkmate! v1 series for DC [comics] you dealt with a lot of issues that were making the headlines at the time: Americans providing weapons to rebel Quracians so they can provide a diversion while America does covert stuff (Iran-Contra affair), some Britains side with aliens to overthrow government (I think that was Irish, actually), America/Russia teams up just as the Berlin Wall is being destroyed. Curious if you're using this as a platform to covertly state your disapproval of current affairs, or if you're just trying to tell an engaging story?

Kupperberg: A little bit of both. A good story is number one. And if you can sneak a little message in there, what the hell, as long as it doesn't hurt the story. I was not a big fan of Ronald Reagan or his policies and still cringe when I hear him referred to as one of the greatest presidents of all time. There's that little thing called 'verisimilitude' - you read a story and even if you're not thinking "oh that's Iran-Contra" in the back of your mind you're going "that sounds familiar" and it kind of makes the story more interesting and more engaging - I hope.

US President Ronald Reagan 1982

Dean: I recommend it [Checkmate!] to everybody... you can ask [co-host] Ryan. I'm pretty annoying about recommending that and Suicide Squad as contemporary pieces that really told a great story of [what] was really disillusionment of whatever existed as a social contract between the American government and the American people, not just as far as welfare programs, but also as far as surveillance programs - of course that's a different story. We can talk about COINTELPRO and etc going far back but...

There was definitely a feeling, during the Reagan era, that any promises that had been made as far as social liberties and social security were out the window now, and you were going to work harder and do what authoritarians said for less and like it... and if you didn't like it we were going to treat you like we treated the Air Traffic Controllers.

Kupperberg: And look where it's led us, to the wonderful [things] we have today. [laughs]

[Dean's question was directly related to an article DC in the 80s wrote several years ago examining the Checkmate! ongoing series. I want to personally thank Dean for pronouncing my last name correctly (sounds like 'Frank-cooer' when said in English).]

---

You can listen to the full podcast here. This is a fantastic episode to listen to if you are a fan of Charlton Comics and/or the Charlton Arrow. Dean had gathered an All-Star ensemble of guests (Paul Kupperberg, Mort Todd, Roger McKenzie, and Fester Faceplant) who delve through everything from the history of Charlton comics, their favorite memories about Charlton comics, the Charlton Action Heroes, a few hilarious anecdotes and the creation of the Charlton Arrow. The energy on this podcast is electric and I strongly recommend a listen.

Dean Compton (and Emily Scott) also manage The Unspoken Decade - a comic book blog that examines the 1990s in comics. It's one of my favorite sites to visit and looks back at all of my old favorites. Look for more collaboration between Dean Compton and DC in the 80s in the future.

-Justin

The Phantom Stranger mini-series (1987)

The Phantom Stranger had a consistent showing in the 1980s. During the early 80s, he had a long running back-up feature in the Saga of the Swamp Thing as well as the occasional guest appearance in the rest of the DCU. In the mid-80s, he had become synonymous with DC's 'mystical elite' and was often found in the pages of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Doug Moench's Spectre, or even J.M. DeMatteis' Dr. Fate. Let's not forget that he was a pivotal character in 1986's LEGENDS cross-over as he wagered with Darkseid over the perseverance of humanity. An extremely well-written Secret Origins #10 (featuring four different hypothetical origins of the Phantom Stranger) had hit the stands in early 1987, and by this point DC had realized the character had enough of a fan interest to at least merit a four issue mini-series.

Paul Kupperberg was in-between projects (Super Powers v3 and Doom Patrol v2) when he was offered the assignment to write a Phantom Stranger mini-series by DC Executive Vice President Paul Levitz. According to the letter column of the fourth issue, Kupperberg's main idea with the Phantom Stranger for this mini-series was to 'mess him up, tear him down and reassemble him better and more aware than before'. Evidently, Kupperberg decided that the most effective way to do this was to have the Phantom Stranger lose his powers in the first issue and have him be a mortal for the rest of the mini-series.

The plot of this mini-series can be summarized with: A de-powered Phantom Stranger tries to thwart Eclipso from ushering in the end of the world. Along the way, he is assisted by a few familiar faces from the DCU.

 

I'm not going to lie - I had a hard time staying interested in this mini-series (or at least the Phantom Stranger segments, anyways). Anytime the Lords of Order/Lords of Chaos are mentioned, I just sort of gloss over the word balloons as I feel the whole idea is too conceptual for me and would require some great mental energy to decipher what's going on. This, of course, is not a fault of Kupperberg's. I always felt that the Phantom Stranger is a rather boring character who works best in the shadows as a deus ex machina (as he first appeared in his 1950's Phantom Stranger v1 and 1970's Phantom Stranger v2 stories). To be honest with you, the real star of this mini-series is Eclipso.

Appearing a few months prior in Outsiders v1 #18 (1987), this is the first we've seen of Eclipso possessing some sort of MAJOR magical powers: Eclipso becomes an agent of Chaos and he's got demon minions at his beck and call. During the 1980s, Eclipso was gradually evolving from a C-list super-villain to a mystical threat worthy of having his own company-wide cross-over (see: 1992's Eclipso: The Darkness Within) and later his own ongoing series (see: 1992's Eclipso v1). I don't know if the evolution of Eclipso was a result of editors Mike Carlin and Denny O'Neil's direction, or if this was all Kupperberg. Nevertheless, Kupperberg handles the villain really well, and Mike Mignola's pencils combined with P. Craig Russell's inks are a visual treat for the eyes.

Did I mention that this was some of Mike Mignola's first DC work? This is actually a selling point on it's own. (That statement may be a little biased since Mignola is one of my favorite comic book artists.) There was lots of demons and dark cult-ish things to draw, so this was right up the future creator of Hellboy's alley. Shortly after this project, Mignola pencilled John Byrne's World of Krypton mini-series - which is also a beautiful looking series - and then 1988's Cosmic Odyssey mini-series. Our co-editor, Mark Belkin, chatted with Mignola at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, and Mignola revealed that he felt he was stretched too thin at DC comics during the late 1980s and his best work did not come out. Personally, I just don't see it.

Despite my overall lack of interest in the Phantom Stranger, the mini-series does have it's moments. As I'm somewhat familiar with Kupperberg's work, I can quickly identify a few Kupperisms throughout the mini-series:

• the nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia is played up to great effect in this mini-series. A hot button topic, Cold War tension would play a great role in 1988's Checkmate! ongoing series (also written by Kupperberg). This mini-series was obviously written before the fall of the Berlin Wall...

• ... and since we're on the topic of Russia (and Checkmate!), it's important to note that Lt. Col. Valentina Vostok (aka Negative Woman) appears in this mini-series as a supporting character. (Negative Woman was created by Kupperberg and Joe Staton for the new Doom Patrol revival in 1977's Showcase #94.) She would be appearing later that year in Kupperberg's new Doom Patrol v2 as a main character. Actually, Negative Woman is one of the things that kept me reading this mini-series as I was hoping she'd play a larger role in the story. Kupperberg like to work characters he's familiar with into his stories (such as the example provided), which leads us to...   

• ...appearances by Jimmy Olsen as a supporting character. Did you know that Kupperberg had written more than five dozen stories for Superman-related titles during the late 70s to the mid 80s? This also includes the 1982 Supergirl ongoing series that ended under mysterious circumstances. Commissioner Gordon also appears a few times in this mini-series (since most of the action takes place in Gotham City), and, you guessed it... Kupperberg had written a few issues of Batman in the early 80s, too. As a matter of fact, Gotham City Police Department Sgt. Harvey Bullock was given a new life as an agent of Checkmate in Kupperberg's late 80s run on Vigilante and his Checkmate! series.

I'm saving the best for last here, but one of the most amusing developments in this mini-series is the pulse-pounding battle between the Phantom Stranger and then-President of the United States, Ronald Reagan:

Please notice that the Phantom Stranger is trying to rip the red phone out of Reagan's hands as he's trying to call on a nuclear strike against Russia. This is a solid gold 80s reference and I'm sure it captured the spirit of America's disdain toward Reagan and his right-wing policies. Just to be clear, that was not the real Reagan but just a doppelganger working for Eclipso.

I can appreciate that Kupperberg manages to keep this within then-current DCU continuity and references the 1987 Dr Fate v1 mini-series a few times (which would have been published one month prior) and keeps in-step with the whole 'Lords of Order/Lords of Chaos' stuff which is something I'm not too familiar with but seems to have come to prominence sometime in the early to mid 80s. The exclusion of Dr Thirteen or Tannarak - two characters I feel are closely associated with the Phantom Stranger - was a bit of a surprise, but didn't detract from the story.

Something curious about this mini-series was that I was unable to find any DC house ads promoting it. Usually it's pretty easy to find DC house ads promoting a DC mini-series from the late 80s, but all of my searches turned up nil.

As far as I know, the Phantom Stranger was NOT optioned for an ongoing series after this mini, but Kupperberg DID write a Phantom Stranger feature for Action Comics Weekly from 1988 to 1989 (featuring a rotating cast of artists).

For your enjoyment:

There is an excellent Phantom Stranger site called 'I am the Phantom Stranger', curated by Rob Kelly, that is absolutely a must-read if you're a fan of the character.

Rob Kelly interviews writer Paul Kupperberg about his work on Phantom Stranger and even discusses Kupperberg's original mini-series pitch to editor Denny O'Neil: "that story was essentially Phantom Stranger as Jesus. The Lords of Order say it's over, the Stranger is left to wonder why he has been forsaken, and left to the tender mercies of mankind to judge him" (Paul Kupperberg).

Throwback Thursday - A really really brief summary of 1983's Vigilante ongoing series

[Everyday is Throwback Thursday when you moderate a webzine that examines comic books from 20+ years ago, however, this was originally written 3 years ago when we first started reviewing DC comics from the 80s on our tumblr. We just figured that with all of the recent hype about Vigilante slated to appear in the CW's next season of the Arrow, now would be a good time to post this. It's kind of humbling to look back on old articles and spot all of the errors/inaccuracies/generalized statements you've made. Remember, sometimes you can't move forward without looking back at how you started. Someday we promise to post the in-depth review this excellent ongoing series deserves - if it's the last thing we ever do. -J]

First, I want to say that this Vigilante has no relation to DC’s golden age Vigilante that appeared in 1941 (cowboy who rides a motorcycle).

I did a lot of research on Vigilante before I posted this, and found there were not that many reviews that thoroughly examine this series.After digging out my old back issues I have come to the conclusion that this may be THE definitive comic book series of the 1980s - I even created a new hash tag just for this entry.

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, the Vigilante was a character introduced in the pages of the New Teen Titans - which was DC’s "it" book of the 1980s. The origin of how the Vigilante came to be is a multi-issue sub-plot that concludes in the New Teen Titans Annual #2 (1983). From then on, the Vigilante gets his own series.

Despite being a spin-off of the New Teen Titans, this series is very much a stand-alone book. One of Wolfman’s main goals in creating this series was to keep it as realistic as possible, which explains the minimal interference from other established DC characters. I’m going to presume that keeping the series grim and violent kept it as close to realistic as possible (observe the newspaper headlines showing in the house ad).

It was a 'Direct Edition' comic (so it never wound up on newsstands) and did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal - which is fitting because the Vigilante shot and killed criminals. The ‘antihero’ was still a relatively new concept in the early 80s, and the fans were squeamish. This series was mired in controversy since the get-go. Fans complained about the cold-blooded killing and the Vigilante took a vow of "no killing" after issue #1. Fans then complained he was too soft, so the writers hardened him up again. At some point fans complained the Vigilante lost his edge and he became a super-hero for a while. Critics panned it for it’s blatant 'implied’ sex scenes. Wolfman wrote and edited this series for the first year, from then on Paul Kupperberg took over writing chores (presumably because Wolfman was busy with Crisis On Infinite Earths and other projects, but I’d be surprised if Wolfman didn’t quit because the readers were too fickle). Wolfman stayed on as editor and Kupperberg stayed on as writer to plot out one of the best whodunnits I’d ever read.

In my opinion, this series really hits it’s stride after Mike Gold becomes the editor (issue #35) and allows Kupperberg the freedom to write stories that would involve as many 80s action/crime film tropes as possible (yes, the protagonist gets arrested and imprisoned and has to fight his way out of jail). By issue #39 a “suggested for mature readers” label is added and the series gets way more extreme with graphic violence, implied sexual abuse, vulgar language, images of drug use, and nudity.

What really makes this series stand out is that it covers a lot of social issues that would never be brought up in a mainstream comic (ex: racial profiling, drug addiction, homelessness, immigration, inflation/economic downturn/jobs being sent over seas, child kidnapping, rape, pedophilia, the war on drugs, corruption in the government/police/law, homosexuality, terrorism, religious extremists, how vigilantism affects society, consequences of killing, innocence, etc…). Which in my opinion was one of the major hallmark of comic books in the 80s: raising awareness of what was going on in our culture/society rather than brushing over the subject and creating a false sense of security. This is NOT a comfortable book.

A few things worth mentioning:

• Alan Moore was a guest writer for issues #17 and #18
• Very subtle Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-in in issue #22
• John Byrne contributed a cover for issue #35
• Mike Grell contributed covers for issues #36, #37, and #38

Vigilante lasted until 1987 with 50 issues and 2 annuals. The adventures of the Vigilante’s supporting cast is continued in Checkmate v1 (1988).

I’ve had the first half of this series since I was a teen and had trouble tracking down the rest of the series until recently. Unfortunately, someone spoiled the ending of this series before I had a chance to finish reading it. I won’t do the same to you. Pick it up, now.


As of this writing, this series has not been reprinted by DC yet, so if you want it you’re going to have to go digging in back-issue bins. Rumor has it that it’s really difficult to find issue #50 - not due to it being highly sought after, but because sales were so bad near the end of the series that retailers were stocking very low numbers of this title.

Vigilante v1 #50 (1988)

Fun Fact: Apparently Wolfman was not pleased with the way the series ended, but had no say in it.

Steve Lightle talks about his 1987 run on Doom Patrol, and his latest project - JUSTiN ZANE

Steve Lightle gained NATIONAL attention when he was still a relatively unknown penciller selected by Karen Berger to illustrate the Baxter edition Legion of Super-Heroes series. Lightle's run on the Legion lasted from 1984 to 1985 - his involvement was unique, as he had a lot of creative input into the series (everything from storylines to costume design to the creation of LoSH fan-favorites Tellus and Quislet). Shortly after his work with LoSH, Lightle began working on the new Doom Patrol revamp in 1987. Things were looking up for the Patrol as they were getting an ongoing monthly series with a hot artist - but Lightle's run unfortunately lasted a mere 5 issues before (newcomer) Erik Larsen took over penciling the series. We were lucky enough to catch up with Mr Lightle to discuss his Doom Patrol v2 work.

Wrap-around cover to Doom Patrol v2 #1 (pencilled and inked by Steve Lightle)

Doom Patrol

DC in the 80s: "In past interviews, you've tactfully explained your departure from the Doom Patrol as a 'unique experience' that was due to 'creative differences'. I think the burning question everyone is wondering: what were the 'creative differences' that caused you to leave Doom Patrol v2?"

Steve Lightle: "They were huge - and many. I will say that it had more to do with the machinations of editorial than the creative differences that I had with the writer. I think that Paul and I could have worked out our differences, if only editorial would have stayed out of the way."

"After Legion of Super-Heroes, I had serious misgivings about the idea of returning to monthly comic book production. Promises were made to entice me - most of which were reneged on as soon as possible. I've always been a storyteller, frustrated by the compartmentalized comic book system. I love drawing - telling stories visually - but it is only a part of the process."

"I was promised script input/approval, co-plotting, and a 6 issue 'lead time', before the book would be added to DC's schedule. That last item was a 'deal breaker' - I insisted that I would only work on a monthly title IF we COMPLETED 6 issues before issue #1 was added to the schedule. I didn't want to worry about deadlines causing me to compromise the quality of my work."

"When I finished the pencil art for issue #1, I told the editor that we had to get going on issue two. He answered that Kupperberg had already written three rewrites and was working on a fourth. I wasn't able to see the scripts or discuss them with anyone.When I finally got the final draft, I was supposed to look it over and give my input - but instead I was told that there was "no time". I was given seven days to draw the whole issue. That is when I was informed that DC had added it to the schedule without communicating to the editor - a story which I don't believe for a minute. I also felt that the stories were failing to reach anywhere near the potential of the Doom Patrol concept. Paul was trying to compete with Marvel's X-Men, rather than digging into what made the Doom Patrol concept unique. I was also seeing characters introduced in script form (this was after I had specifically said that I expected to be involved in the development of new characters). Even on the Legion of Super-Heroes, my story ideas and character creations were respected. My LoSH characters generally started with me - and were presented to the writer for his approval. It was the exact opposite on the Doom Patrol. In fact, my input was generally ignored."

"I've worked with editors who knew how to create a comfortable atmosphere where the creators were free to do their best work. Those that can pull this off are a joy to work with. My personal experience is that there are many editors who are good at their jobs - but there are far too many who are untrustworthy, unethical, or just plain incompetent. My least favorite type is the pathological game player. He's a dangerous egotist who will gladly destroy you to make himself look good to others."

"I did not want to see more generic superheroes added to the Doom Patrol. These new Doom Patrol characters were typical 'funny book' characters. Karma was a punk rock cliché with swastikas for earrings. Lodestone/Rhea Jones - I just keep thinking that the clownish colors of her costume hurt this character. My original intention was that she turned a cobalt blue when her powers were in use. So, all the heavily shaded areas should be highlighted with blue, while her costume was intended to be entirely white. Her eyes should only be shown without pupils when she is using her powers. I'm not sure why the colorist and editor ignored my instructions and design. My guess is that the color schemes were never relayed to the colorist of the book."

How Lodestone was intended to look, as per Steve Lightle

"You'll notice that my last cover showed Cliff and Larry in a graveyard, looking at a tombstone that had the new characters names spelled out in blood. I was making it very clear where I stood on the subject of these new characters."

Doom Patrol v2 #5

DC in the 80s: "Now, as mentioned in your interview with the Legion of Super-Bloggers, you've more or less been a lifelong Doom Patrol fan ("Before I learned to read, I guess I was drawn to the Doom Patrol and Krypto.... Yep, Superdog even more than Superboy") and that early in your career the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Doom Patrol and the Creeper were the three DC titles you most wanted a 'shot' at. What would you have done with the Doom Patrol, had you been given creative input?"

Steve Lightle: "I would have focused on character-driven stories that focused on the humanity of these 'freaks'. In my interview with the Worst Comic Podcast Ever, I talk about how the original concept of the Doom Patrol - these are people who have powers and view them as life-altering curses and rise above that (and the way that society perceives them) so they can do the 'right thing' - is the heart and soul of this title. I'd have returned the original cast. This new Doom Patrol ongoing series followed Crisis on Infinite Earths, so it wouldn't have been that hard to do."


DC in the 80s: "Not wanting to rip on Erik Larsen or anything, but after you left Doom Patrol and Larsen took over, the book felt more... 'cartoony'. There was a huge contrast between your realistic art and Larsen's..."

Steve Lightle:"Well, I wanted to ground it in reality. I thought that the genius of Bruno Premiani was that he drew such realistic people. No matter how bizarre the circumstances became, the characters were very relate-able. I am very fond of contrast. Whether it is in art or story. You only see shadows when there is light. You only understand evil when you contrast it with good. Strange only seems strange when contrasted with the mundane. That would be my biggest criticism of Morrison's run on the Doom Patrol. He piled the unbelievable on farce on abstraction, and then piled on convoluted motivations. It was a fun read - in contrast to the other books on the market - but as a self-contained world, it didn't provide any normalcy to give the strangeness context."

My Greatest Adventure #80 with art by Bruno Premiani

[This interview is bringing back a lot of fond memories, and I just had to comment on how such a small run of 5 issues could have such an impact on fandom. If I could wax nostalgic for a moment, I remember seeing the house ads for the new Doom Patrol years before I finally owned it. I wasn't terribly up to speed on the comings and goings of the Doom Patrol at that point in my life, but "THE ORIGINAL HARD LUCK HEROES ARE BACK FROM THE GRAVE..." had me wondering when they had ever died and it gave the title a macabre feel (which, as a 9 year old, I just couldn't resist).
The first issue was a gift from my dad, he bought me a stack of random comic books from a flea market somewhere and was surprising me with them one at a time every time I did a chore around the house (or something to that effect). Doom Patrol v2 #1 was clearly my most treasured comic from that stack. There were a few Who's Who pages at the end of the issue to bring readers (like me, I assume) up to speed. It was a very mature story and it took me several years before I found issue #2 so I must've re-read that first issue about 6 dozen times.

I'm obviously not the only fan who has fond memories of Steve Lightle's very brief run: Matthew Clark (artist for Doom Patrol v5) is also big fan - as he mentions in his interview with My Greatest Adventure 80 blog. -J]

Life After Doom Patrol

Steve Lightle: "After I split from DC over my involvement with Doom Patrol and the Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes, I was introduced at Marvel by Archie Goodwin. Archie said that they were anxious to work with me, but they had been told that I was under an exclusive contract to DC. Which had only been true for one year in the early eighties."

"In one day I received three or four calls from editors at Marvel. I started on a fill-in issue of X-Factor immediately, and covers for Classic X-Men. Keep in mind, I was still doing covers at DC."

"Eventually I did cover work on Power Pack, Avengers Spotlight, Conan, and one-shots on things like Daredevil and X-Force, etc. Terry Kavanagh asked me to do Wolverine for Marvel Comics Presents, and I enjoyed a good working relationship with Ann Nocenti. I also did some Spider-Man work, which was fun. For a period of time I was out of the industry, although I was occasionally tempted to return - with offers to work on Spider-Man again - but I ultimately passed on it. I didn't come back until after I heard of a rumor that I had died. I was said to have died in an auto accident. By the time that I found out about it, the rumor was being debunked on some website."

"I did a cover for a Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes crossover which eventually brought me back to the LoSH, primarily on covers."

JUSTiN ZANE

Lightle's most recent project, via his recently-launched Lunatick Press, is a web-series called JUSTiN ZANE that is released in "episodes" on a semi-weekly basis. I've talked to Mr Lightle about it before, and when asked to described it he responded with "I honestly believe that JUSTiN ZANE is unique, in the way that it approaches the concept of super heroics in the future." That really only left me with more questions than answers, so I decided to peruse it myself. JUSTiN ZANE is hosted by www.patreon.com and the first few episodes can be viewed at Steve Lightle's JUSTiN ZANE page.

As previously mentioned, JUSTiN ZANE is released bi-weekly as "episodes" - which roughly translates to one over-sized digital comic book page per episode.That's one of the first things I need to comment on - Steve Lightle being the writer/editor/scripter/plotter/illustrator/colorist of his OWN book with his OWN characters gives him that much more freedom to do what he wants with it. Lightle's art has ALWAYS stood out no matter what project he's ever worked on, and JUSTiN ZANE is no exception. Additionally, Lightle has a really strong grasp on storytelling and can accurately set up the mood, page layout and pacing for maximum effect of drawing in the reader. You can really observe a lot of Steve's strengths as a storyteller as he progresses through the first few episodes. To quote Mr Lightle: "The illusion is that a comic book artist draws pictures. The fact is that a comic book artist tells a story - with lighting, perspective, mood, and style".

Personally, the "one page every few days" format takes me back to those days when comic strips would run in newspapers, and you'd get one large page every few days. You'd be anxiously awaiting the next installment to see what was going to happen next.

Steve asked me not to compare JUSTiN ZANE to any of his previous work, which is very difficult for me since his mid-to-late 80s work on Legion of Super-Heroes and his brief run on Doom Patrol left a HUGE impact on my formative years of comic book reading, so I can't help but draw parallels. While it's NOTHING like either of the two books mentioned previously - JUSTiN ZANE is set in the far far future (think: 2769 AD) and carries the "superhero who is 'cursed' with powers" concept. Steve Lightle maintains that JUSTiN ZANE is HIS work and he has, so far, resisted the urge to let others help with the series.

The series itself has a diverse and interesting cast of characters - characters that are capable of stepping into the spotlight (should the need arise). If you haven't picked up on it yet, characterization is one of Steve's big focuses in this web series. Something you may not know is that some of the characters featured (namely, the Blue Shark) are characters Lightle created 35+ years ago who appeared in his comic fanzines The Power Masters (White Raven Publications) and Blue Shark. (John Beatty had inked several issues, Jerry Ordway had inked a couple of pages and Rick Stasi drew a Blue Shark story that Steve had written.)

Lightle's early comic fanzines (circa 1977 - 1978)

When asked about what made working on JUSTiN ZANE different, Steve Lightle replied with "The difference between creating for the readers/fans and creating for a big comic book company, is that I will always take the time to do the best that I can. I draw and redraw. Nothing is set in stone until it is published. I edit myself as I go. Of course, the general plot was done before I began drawing. But specific scenes can be changed as necessary. I know exactly where I am going, but I am free to get there in any number of ways. Hopefully, I choose to take the most interesting path. The story dictates what happens to the characters - but I'd never simply kill off characters casually - or for shock value."


JUSTiN ZANE sets out to demonstrate what Steve Lightle is capable of with complete and unhindered creative control. It also demonstrates that a creator-owned comic can survive as a web-comic series and be entertaining as well as successful. On that last note, Steve is a firm believer in 'getting what you pay for', which is why he chose Patreon to host his JUSTiN ZANE web-comic series. Read the first dozen episodes - if you like it, subscribe to it (this will allow you to access the rest of episodes as well as bonus content).

I'm strongly recommending that you check out JUSTiN ZANE and give it a chance. Giving it a 'trial run' will cost you nothing, and you'll get to enjoy some classic Steven Lightle signature artwork and storytelling.

Recommended Reading:

• DC in the 80s: A Brief Review of Doom Patrol v2 (1987 - 1989)
• Legion of Super-Bloggers interview Steve Lightle about his first professional comic book work, his work on New Talent Showcase, his work on Legion of Super-Heroes and a bit about his work on Doom Patrol and the Flash: http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspot.ca/2015/06/steve-lightle-interview-with-lsb.html 
• mygreatestadventure80.blogspot.ca: a fansite dedicated to the Doom Patrol
• Will Allred (of Quantum Zone) interviews Steve Lightle about how he started in the comics business, his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes, his work on Doom Patrol and his work on Marvel's Quasar: http://www.quantumzone.org/behind_the_scenes/interviews/steve_lightle_interview.html 

[I'm just going to quote the most relevant part of the 1998 Allred/Lightle interview, since I'm always paranoid that things get deleted from the internet and 'lost forever'. -J]


Allred: You mentioned the Doom Patrol. I remember buying some of the issues off the stand and was disappointed when you left the series. What caused you to leave?

Lightle: The Doom Patrol was an interesting experience. There are things about it that I thought worked... But the unique circumstances that surrounded that job were just too strange. When Dick Giordano first asked me to do the book, he and I both imagined it as a mini-series. If the editor had kept it that way.... I think it might have been a great series. The first Stan Drake/Bruno Premiani story was fantastically original. I don't think our version was, though. I have since come to believe that Paul Kupperburg and I might have come up with something equally satisfying if circumstances had been different. Paul and I like and respect each other and are enjoying a great relationship on other projects like Flash and Superboy. Who knows what we might have accomplished on the Doom Patrol had things been different?