Reviewing Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye -- one year later

Alright, so we'll admit, we're about a year late on this one. Things happened -- we self-published another fanzine, we interviewed a few more comic pros, we covered a few comic conventions -- that got in the way of covering the new Young Animal imprint we're so stoked for. Besides, I enjoy waiting to read the first few issues in one sitting versus only reading the first issue and deciding if the series is going to be a hit or not... sometimes these things take a few issues to develop momentum.  

First of all, who is Cave Carson? The 1960s were an interesting time for DC comics; as the cultural shift would have it, the early 60s saw super-powered characters gaining in popularity again (thanks mainly to the Comics Code Authority putting a halt to horror and crime comics). Before super-powered characters became the 'big thing' in the Silver Age, DC tried out stories about normal humans (usually adventurers or researchers) dealing with extraordinary situations. Hence, we were introduced to The Challengers of the Unknown (a team of human adventurers), the Sea Devils (a team of human underwater adventurers), Rip Hunter (a normal human who invents a time-traveling device), the Suicide Squad (a group of human military operatives) and Cave Carson (a human subterranean adventurer/researcher).

Created by France Herron and Bruno Premiani, Cave Carson debuted in The Brave and the Bold #31 (1960), and lead his expedition team to explore lost underground civilizations and fight subterranean monsters; the stories were a fusion of adventure and science-fiction. I'm sure these tales had their time and place, but I never really had any interest in them -- because really, how many kinds of stories can you tell about a spelunker before they all start to seem similar?

Panels from Showcase #48 (1964). Art by Lee Elias.

He was featured in a few issues of DC's 'try-out' titles, Showcase and The Brave and the Bold, in the early 60s -- but as super-heroes became more popular, he and the rest of the 'non-powered human adventurers' were shuffled off into comic book limbo.

Roughly twenty years later, Cave Carson was included as a member of the aptly named Forgotten Heroes (the other members were also 1960s characters who had gotten lost in comic book limbo). The Forgotten Heroes only appeared a few times pre-Crisis, and afterwards Cave Carson would remain on the fringes of the DCU and occasionally pop up when a writer decided to use him. With nothing else to offer other than his own natural athletic ability and his Mighty Mole digging machine, Carson doesn't bring too much to the table unless the story required someone with expertise in geology. 

Panels from War of the Gods #4 (1991). Art by George Perez, inker unknown.

It was a bit of a surprise that Cave Carson would be headlining one of Young Animal's launch titles (especially under a mature readers label). I was genuinely curious to see what they could do with this character in an interesting way.

Going into Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye, I'm just familiar enough with the character to feel a bit of nostalgia (probably due to him being around since the 1960s) but not so familiar with him that I'll get outrageously upset if they retcon his entire origin.

Upon diving into the first issue, my first discovery was that this book's art was a little more cartoony than I was expecting -- it's very reminiscent of Bruce Timm's art style (as seen in Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series) -- but nevertheless fit with the atmosphere and mood of the story. Illustrator Michael Avon Oeming's layouts are astounding to look at and really contribute to the fluidity of the narrative. Among other things, Oeming is known for his work on Powers (Image/Icon Comics) with writer Brian Michael Bendis -- so if you're wondering why his art looks familiar, now you know.

While I'm mentioning the visuals, I'm going to remark that colorist Nick Filardi's choices of bright vibrant colors (plenty of purples, pinks, greens and blues) compliment Oeming's psychedelic backgrounds and make the pages 'pop' in all the right places.

Double-page spread from Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #1 (2016). Art by Michael Avon Oeming

Written by Gerard Way and Jon Rivera, the story itself is fast-paced and absorbing. It's not very wordy, has plenty of action and makes for a quick read. There's a little bit of strong language, but nothing overly offensive. There's a few times that I had to pause in order to take in everything (visually) on the page -- as mentioned before, Oeming and Filardi make a great team. I'm tempted to tear a lot of these pages out of the book and turn them into black light posters [...but I won't, for obvious reasons].

A little bit of Cave's history was expounded on; since the last time readers had heard from him, he'd been married and now has a daughter named Chloe (who is a University student when this story takes place). For the long-time Cave Carson fans, there's a few references to Cave's earlier adventures with Superman and a few recognizable DC characters appear in the story [...including a hero who was introduced in the late '80s, but quickly vanished into comic book limbo. No spoilers, but if you want to know who, click this link].

There's nothing too cerebral about it and it won't make you challenge your belief system or open your eyes to new doorways beyond reality. In short, it's an entertaining sci-fi action-adventure story with a few f-bombs and pop culture references thrown in for good measure. While I thought the entire twelve issue story arc was entertaining as hell and the visuals were quite mesmerizing, I *really* kept reading to see if other legacy DC characters would make cameos (or if any earth-shaking retcons might occur). After reading this series a few times, I positively CANNOT discern whether this is happening in a new DCU, an imaginary world, or a mish-mash of both. Does it really matter? No, it doesn't. It's still an entertaining read.

Why, of all possible C-list DC characters, was Cave Carson chosen to headline his own Young Animal series? Thankfully, Gerard Way explains this in the AFTERWORD of the Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye TPB vol 1: Going Underground (2017). Out of respect to the Copyright Act, I'm going to resist re-typing everything verbatim and give the summarized version. Here goes:

As Way discussed the idea of a new DC comics imprint with Dan DiDio and Jim Lee at the California DC comics offices -- something that re-created the weirdness of the early 90s Vertigo comics -- DiDio suggested that they move in a direction "outside of what Vertigo had done in the past". DiDio explained that a new imprint required a new energy, a different trajectory -- even if it used old characters. DiDio handed Way a copy of The Encyclopedia of the DC Universe and suggested he go digging (presumably for obscure DC characters he could revitalize).

As Way explains it, he's always had an "affinity for obscure characters" because it felt like they were untapped gold mines of potential as far as character development was concerned. Either they were hardly used (so there were huge gaps in their history the writer could fill in), or fans just didn't care about them. Way felt like he hit the proverbial jackpot when he stumbled onto Cave Carson's entry in the DC Encyclopedia. From Gerard Way:

"I check out his stats at the top, and something grabbed my attention:

Special Powers/Abilities: Highly intelligent, with a natural gift for his area of expertise; one eye is cybernetic.

And that's it. There is some history involving his old crew, and a mention of their dip in popularity once the modern age of superheroes began (and a bit about him stealing a vehicle called the Mighty Mole from his employers), but statistically he was just a smart expert in geology with a cybernetic eye. I was in love." 

Preliminary research on the origins of the cybernetic eye yielded nothing, so DiDio got involved and discovered that Cave Carson and his cybernetic eye first appeared in the last few issues of Resurrection Man v1 (1997). Upon further inquiry, it was revealed that the Resurrection Man creative team (Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Jackson Guice) never explained how or why Cave Carson had a new cybernetic eye, and the reader was left to assume that it had happened in some sort of off-panel adventure -- essentially leaving an opening for a new creative team to tell that tale. So now you know the rest of the story.

Cave Carson from Resurrection Man v1 #24. Art by Jackson Guice

As an added bonus, the first six issues of Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye include 3-page excerpts from Thomas Scioli's Super Powers volume 1. Scioli has a knack for making our childhood toylines entertaining again (see: 2014's Transformers vs GI Joe maxi-series by IDW comics), and this time he works his magic on the Super Powers Collection toyline we grew up with.

In contrast to Cave Carson's vibrant digital coloring and crisp inks, Scioli's back-ups look like they were drawn on yellowing parchment paper and colored with coloring pencils -- the entire effect gives it an organic D-I-Y feel that brings up nostalgic memories of that really talented kid back in elementary school who was writing, illustrating and coloring his own in-house comics. [Don't let that last line mislead you, I really dig Sciloi's work.] Erik Tramontana, a major Super Friends enthusiast, wrote a really nice run-down of the Scioli Super Powers back-ups for us back in April 2017.

Super Powers proof-of-concept page. Everything by Thomas Scioli.

The elusive Scioli [we *tried* to interview him] actually explained his whole creative process in one of his blog posts. As before, we'll give you the short version:

Originally, for his Super Powers back-ups, Scioli wanted to use all the characters you saw in his proof-of-concept page (as shown in the image above), but DC editorial told him most of the characters on the page were not available for use. So, Scioli re-started from scratch and dug up obscure DC characters he could build a story on [are you seeing a pattern here?]. He managed to dust-off quite a few early Jack Kirby creations, but ultimately settled on Arin the Armored Man, the evil Sphinx, a BMX-riding Batgirl, a bunch of Green Lantern Corps members we hadn't seen since the '80s, and the Wonder Twins (with Gleek). As Scioli's 3-page scripts were being approved by DC editorial, he was gradually able to slowly sneak more A-list DC characters into the story.

Among other things, Scioli revealed that he had about 3-years worth of Super Powers-inspired storylines he hopes to someday see in print. He also dropped this little factoid:

"Gerard [Way] told me that early on in the curation of the Young Animal line, he wanted me to do a Demon series, but that the character was unavailable. I remembered Alan Moore and Joe Orlando’s Phantom Stranger origin story that featured Etrigan the Angel. It’s one of those things that seems simple and makes total sense, but it takes a genius like Moore to point it out: like all demons, Kirby’s Demon began life as an angel. I wrote a superhero action adventure for the character. But what does a superhero fight at a time when even Satan is an angel? I figured it would have to be something Lovecraftian. I was weaving an elaborate Bayeaux tapestry of the DC Universe."

As a side note, Gerard Way and fellow My Chemical Romance band-mate Ray Toro recorded an original song called 'Into the Cave We Wander' (an obvious nod to Cave Carson). This song was distributed on Young Animal Record Store Day vinyl records and cassette tapes (with the B-side being a dramatic reading of a fictitious geology documentary called 'Poggy's Cavern'.

Young Animal vinyl LP. Photo source: discogs.com

I really have to give credit where credit is due: between the release of the ashcan, vinyl record and cassette, Gerard Way and company did an exemplary job of keeping Cave Carson (and the Young Animal imprint) true to the spirit of being bizarre, entertaining and unpredictable in a 'make comic books worth talking about' kind of way.

I have high hopes for the Young Animal imprint -- much like the Berger-edited Vertigo of the early 90s I grew up with, they are taking older, obscure DC characters and breathing new life into them. Since current Vertigo is mainly created-owned characters, I'd argue that Young Animal is more 'Vertigo' than Vertigo is. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Cave Carson, and if we're going to get any full-length Scioli Super Powers comic books or anthologies in the near future.

Justin



If you liked this article, we also wrote a non-spoiler review of Young Animal's Doom Patrol, too

Oh, and there's a review of Shade the Changing Girl you can check out as well.

Reviewing the 1988 Hawk & Dove mini-series

The mini-series (aka 'limited series') was an excellent method for DC comics to test if there was enough interest in a character/team before deciding to commit to a monthly ongoing series. In an attempt to re-introduce an older title to a modern audience, DC published the five-issue Hawk & Dove mini-series in 1988. Hawk and Dove wasn't a totally new concept — most Teen Titans readers would've been familiar with Hawk as he had appeared in several Teen Titans stories in the last few years [New Teen Titans v2 #19 - #21, #24 and Teen Titans Spotlight #7 - #8] as a solo act.

Karl Kesel and Barbara Kesel wrote this mini-series, while Mike Carlin edited (and Renee Witterstaetter was the assistant editor).

As one of DC's more recognized inkers since he started in 1984's New Talent Showcase, this mini-series was Karl Kesel's first credited work for DC comics as a writer (I say 'credited' because I know that he was giving creative input to 1987's Suicide Squad while he inked the series). Among other things, Barbara Kesel (né Randall) had written several Batgirl and Superman stories (as well as most of the copy for the Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes limited series) prior to this mini-series.

Karl and Barbara had gotten married shortly before the publication of this mini-series (between the inking of issues #1 and #2) — just in case you were wondering why they both had the Kesel surname. Along with this mini-series, Mike Carlin was also editing The Shadow, Power of the Atom, Superman, Adventures of Superman, Doc Savage and The Cosmic Odyssey limited series. My best guess is that Witterstaetter was assisting Carlin with whatever projects he was overseeing. According to Barbara, the idea of the new Hawk & Dove was originally pitched with the intent of being used as a feature in a new anthology series being developed, but Carlin saw the potential in the duo and decided to give it the mini-series treatment instead.

House ad for Hawk & Dove mini-series

First, a little background on the head-lining characters:

Hawk & Dove first debuted in DC's Showcase #75 (1968). Created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates, Hawk (Hank Hall) & Dove (Don Hall) were two teen-aged brothers who, when they spoke the magic word ["Hawk" or "Dove", respectively], transformed into super-heroes. Hawk was the brash aggressive one, and Dove was the passive, thinking man's hero. If you want to get political about it, Hawk is the 'take no prisoners' macho conservative and Dove is the extreme-left bleeding heart liberal — and you should get political about it, because that's what inspired these characters. As then-editor Dick Giordano explained in the letter-column of Showcase #75:

The creation of these characters was pretty relevant and timely, as the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War caused an uproar of protests (especially among college students) during the mid-to-late 1960s. Don't discount how much of a hot-button issue the Vietnam War was to Americans in the late 60s/early 70s — according to A People's History of the United Stated by Howard Zinn, "In August of 1965, 61 percent of the population thought the American involvement in Vietnam was not wrong. By May 1971 it was exactly reversed; 61 percent thought our involvement was wrong." DC was striking where the iron was hot, and there was no hotter topic than the Vietnam War.

Shortly after their Showcase debut, Hawk & Dove had their own 1968 ongoing series that lasted six issues. I've always liked the idea of Hawk & Dove (maybe it was their colorful costumes or the duality of their powers) — but the execution of their ongoing series was really poor. Being a book from the late 60s, the pacing was slow as molasses and, while Hawk was an interesting character, Dove (Don Hall) really got on my nerves as I just saw him as dead-weight to a potentially interesting crime-fighting unit. A lot of their 6 issue series were spent arguing among themselves about how to deal with criminals: Dove trying to push forward with his pacifist agenda and prove a point to Hawk, while Hawk preached the virtues of violence and force. The story typically ended with no clear resolution on which solution was more effective (aggression or pacifism), so you never really learned anything important from these stories.

panels from Hawk and Dove v1 #2 (1968) illustrated by Steve Ditko

The teen-aged Hawk & Dove guest-starred in Teen Titans v1 several times during the 70s and even became members of Titans West — these stories were quite good (mainly because there was less bickering between Hank and Don since they worked as a team unit). Following that, they kind of meandered around the DCU until Dove (Don Hall) was killed off in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Crisis On Infinite Earths #12 (1986) - illustrated by George Perez and Jerry Ordway

After Dove's death, Hawk appeared occasionally in the DCU. There was a bit of a sub-plot brewing in New Teen Titans (written by Marv Wolfman) in which Hawk goes off the deep-end and becomes 'unhinged' due to the death of his brother. Following his appearance in NTT, Hawk was becoming a warmonger and could be found charging into the confrontation du jour yelling about 'commies' and 'pinkos' while exhibiting extreme prejudice. In hindsight, Hawk exemplified Reagan-era Cold War values (ex: 'down with the Soviets', 'American technology and values is superior to all else') mixed with a militant machismo attitude. This set the scene for interesting interactions with other super-heroes.

panels from New Teen Titans v2 #20

And now you're all caught up...

Among other things, the new Hawk & Dove mini-series was a chance to update the original duo for a more contemporary audience. This was nothing to be concerned about... quite a few DC characters were being 'redefined' post-Crisis: Aquaman became a magical-based character in his 1986 mini-series, the mantle of Doctor Fate was passed to a new character in his 1987 mini-series, Power Girl was revealed to actually be Atlantean in her 1988 mini-series, the Martian Manhunter had multiple alterations made to his origin in his 1988 mini-series, and Hawkman and Hawk Woman would experience a major shake-up in 1989's Hawkworld (just to name a few).

If I had to sum up this mini-series in as few sentences as possible, I'd tell you that: a new Dove appears in Hawk's life, they team up to battle a new threat, and ultimately discover that they are agents of Chaos and Order. I realize that this is a very blunt summary, but the writing and pacing of this mini-series is top notch and there are many elements at play here that make this a very interesting and entertaining read.

The first issue opens with the introduction of a new villain, Kestrel, who is hunting down Hawk (Hank Hall). Contrary to popular suspicion, 'Kestrel' is not actually the combination of Barbara's married and maiden names ('Kesel' and 'Randall'), but a species of falcon. (Hey, how about that?) The bird motif runs strong in Hawk & Dove, so best to get used to it early.  Barbara mentions in her Forward to the Hawk & Dove TPB that "Kestrel’s name was an inside joke: my friend Ron had used the name (it’s a bird, look it up) as a gaming character- the most peaceful and loving character in the history of role-playing-so we used the name for our vicious mass murderer".

Hawk & Dove v2 #3 - Kestrel

We are then thrust into Hank Hall's life as he attempts to re-enroll in college and get his life back together since the death of his brother (all while playing self-proclaimed protector to Washington, D.C.). As far as character development goes, the Kesels do a fantastic job of getting the reader to sympathize with Hawk as we learn that he's kind of a screw-up and blames himself for Don Hall's demise. The Kesels are careful to include references to Hawk's most recent adventures in Nicaragua [Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1 (1988)] and his being kicked out of the Teen Titans - which demonstrates that this mini-series is occurring within continuity and is all part of the unified DCU. Since most of Hawk's non-costumed adventures take place in a campus setting with other college students, a strong supporting cast is quickly built up within the first issue - hence providing a chance for some interesting interpersonal relationships to develop.

As quoted from Barbara Kesel's Forward in the Hawk & Dove TPB:

Karl’s sister and my brother were the original models for the characters of Dawn and Hank (but only the good parts!); our parents became their parents; our friends became their friends. [...] Ren started out as my best friend, but just wouldn’t stay her. As writers, we’re always cannibalizing from our own lives in order to create true false reality, and there is, therefore, a lot of us in the mix.

The secret identity of the new female Dove is a mystery that runs throughout the first several issues of the mini-series (the reader is only introduced to her by the end of the first issue) — the Kesels added a few red herrings to the story to keep the reader guessing who Dove's real identity was (most readers were able to successfully guess it by the end of the second issue).

Hawk & Dove v2 #1 - the NEW Dove

As previously mentioned, this mini-series reveals that Hawk and Dove are, in fact, agents of Chaos and Order (respectively). I'm having a bit of difficulty pin-pointing where the Lords of Chaos/Lords of Order idea started in the DCU, but I think it was during Paul Kupperberg's 1987 Phantom Stranger mini-series. Regardless, this was actually a much appreciated addition to the Hawk & Dove mythos. Previously, the Hall brothers mainly spent their time battling petty crooks and combating urban crime, but redefining them as agents of Chaos and Order now gave them more opportunities to battle occult and supernatural forces (which everybody knows makes for more interesting story-telling), and to have a greater connection to the mystical characters of the DCU (i.e. Doctor Fate, Phantom Stranger, Arion, etc)

Along with the idea that Hawk and Dove are agents of Chaos and Order comes a bit of retconning in terms of their origins. We learn that 'the Voice' that gave them their powers were actually 'Voices' (plural). This ties in nicely with the Lords of Chaos and Order reveal — because they're a group of entities who work in unison - and also eliminates the confusion that the Voice that gave the original Hawk & Dove their powers wasn't the same Voice [of God] that gave The Spectre his powers. The mini-series ends with a hint that the Agents of Order may not be the benevolent force they appear to be, as the new Dove deduces that Don Hall's Dove powers were taken away from him and given to her minutes before he was killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths (effectively making him an easy target for a Shadow Demon).

Another nice thing about this mini-series is that it clearly defines Hawk & Dove's powers. Whereas the original origin was kind of vague and open to interpretation...

Showcase #75 (1968)

...the Kesel's mini-series clarified this with a recap of the duo's powers (or at least the new Dove's):

This re-explanation was greatly needed, as I always felt like the original series left Hawk and Dove's powers too ambiguous. As far as I could tell, Hawk had the power of being really angry and attacking recklessly without thinking, while Dove had the power of trying to slow down his brother and getting punched in the face a lot. Truth be told, I still can't tell if Hawk and Dove's powers of accelerated healing was a power they originally started with back in Showcase or if it was a power the Kesels managed to slide in during this mini-series.

All things considered, the new Dove was far more interesting than the original. Unlike Don Hall, who was either trying to 'prove himself' or refusing to resort to violence (and mainly used evasive and defensive maneuvers), the new Dove was a confident and competent character who used martial arts (with an emphasis on turning the opponents weaknesses on themselves) to deal with her foes.

Let's also not forget that she was a woman with no (apparent) family relation to Hank Hall, which left the door open for potential romantic development between the two. Hawk suddenly acquiring a female Dove was quite the surprise among DC fans. If you check the then-current DC comics landscape back in 1988, there weren't too many strong female characters with a prominent lead role in a title. Sure, there was Wonder Woman (in her own title), Negative Woman in Doom Patrol v2,  Wonder Girl and Starfire in New Teen Titans v2, and Black Canary appearing in both Action Comics Weekly and Green Arrow v2 — but out of 50 books being published monthly, that's not an incredibly strong showing. In short, the time was right for a new head-lining female superhero.

In an interview with Jennifer M. Contino for Sequential Tart from 2000, Barbara Kesel revealed that she found a sketch of a female version of Dove while flipping through one of Karl Kesel's sketch books:

"Who's this?" I asked. "Oh," he said, "I always thought Dove should have been a girl character." We chatted, I wrote up the proposal, and poor Carlin got badgered into the series."

One of the most notable things about this mini-series was that it was some of Rob Liefeld's first* published work for DC comics. Actually, it was some of Liefeld's first work for the 'big two' after being scouted by DC comics Executive Editor Dick Giordano at Wonder Con 1987. Liefeld pencilled all five issues and Karl Kesel inked over Liefeld's pencils. Looking back over this mini-series, you begin to notice many Liefeld-isms that would recur in his later work: splash pages filled with energetic and dynamic action poses, characters being loaded up with excessive firearms, careful detail paid to facial expressions and character reactions, and extreme close-ups of large toothy triangular grins. In short, Liefeld brought a fantastic energy to the pages that kept the reader enthralled with visual detail.

* In 1988, a 21 year-old Rob Liefeld had work appear in DC's Secret Origins v2 #28, Warlord #131 and Hawk & Dove v2 #1 - all within several months of each other. Your guess is as good as mine as to which was considered Liefeld's 'first' work for DC.

Readers were quick to pick up on Liefeld's talents and lauded DC for the amazing find (ensuring to mention Karl Kesel's inks which embellished Liefeld's work). One reader even went so far as to suggest that Liefeld might be the next Todd McFarlane (ha! if only they knew).

There's an interesting editorial note from Mike Carlin in the last issue of the series thanking Karl Kessel, inker Keith Williams and inker Bob Lewis for 'sundry assistance during the worst of it' and a reference to Liefeld introducing 'entirely new situations to an Editor who'd thought he'd seen it all'.

Carlin is referring to the fact that Liefeld submitted some of his final pencilled pages for Hawk & Dove v2 #5 in a 'landscape' style [as opposed to the 'portrait' style you see when you read a comic upright]. This led to Karl Kesel and Mike Carlin needing to xerox and lightbox Liefeld's finished panels into an upright position in order to get the book ready for print. I'm assuming Liefeld's submitted work past it's deadline by this point - just to add that extra element of pressure. You can read Karl Kesel's account of this event at Brian Cronin's Comic Book Legends Revealed #36.

Issue #1 of this mini-series was the first appearance of the new Dove as well as the new agent of Chaos, Kestrel. Liefeld played a major hand in designing the new Dove's costume. I've always appreciated the attention to detail in which the new Dove's costume is modeled so closely to Don Hall's costume — preserving a sense of legacy. In an interview with Jennifer M. Contino at Comicon.com, Liefeld revealed that he has a small sense of ownership to the new Dove:

“I designed the character in the late ’80s and originally her costume would reveal no hair at all if I didn’t throw down with the Kesel’s over it. We finally compromised on the ponytail-do, but you have no idea the effort that took.”

...and from the same interview:

"When I co-created Kestrel with Barbara and Karl Kesel way back in the mini-series, he was very predator-like, very much a hostile force of evil working on behalf of the agents of Chaos to disrupt the balance of good and evil, tilting it towards evil."

Karl Kesel's Forward from the Hawk & Dove trade paperback confirms that 1) Rob insisted that they modify the new Dove's costume to let her hair show, and that 2) Barbara created Kestrel, Rob Liefeld designed his costume, and Mike Carlin decided it would be purple.

Kestrel appeared a few more times in the DCU after this mini-series was concluded - once in a 2005 Teen Titans story arc (illustrated by Liefeld) and as a villain in the 2009 Superman/Batman Public Enemies animated movie.

Kestrel as he appears in the 1992 Impel DC Cosmic Cards trading card set

Rob Liefeld illustrating Hawk & Dove (who could both essentially be considered Teen Titans spin-off characters by association) would be a major coup for the artist — he'd been a fan of the Teen Titans longer than he'd been a fan of Marvel's X-Men or Avengers. Liefeld disclosed to Matt Brady in a 2005 Newsarama interview:

"I was a major, big time fan of the Teen Titans as a kid. I loved the comic in the mid 70’s incarnation prior to Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s ’80s re-launch. I loved the Aquaman cartoon because it had the Teen Titan feature on it, the one where Kid Flash’s costume colors were reversed to red on top and yellow legs... I love the Titans, yes."

"A little known fact is that I was an early member of the ’80s Teen Titans fan club, Titan Talk along with my early Youngblood collaborator and current Wildstorm exec Hank Kanalz. And even more little known is that I’m on the guest book in Teen Titans #50, the Wedding of Donna Troy. George [Perez] had my name added to the guest list. If I’d been on time with my photo, George would have drawn me in the book. See, I’ve always been late, deadline challenged... even as a kid."

Liefeld's name in the Donna Troy/Terry Long guest list. Just above Dick Giordano's.

From the same Newsarama interview, Brady asked about other Teen Titans plans Liefeld may have had with DC following the Hawk & Dove mini-series:

"I proposed a new Titans book in 1991, Team Titans was the proposal, Jon Peterson who edited the book approved it, Marv Wolfman signed on to co-write it and then I couldn’t make the deal with Dick Giordano. God bless him, we just couldn’t make the numbers work. So I took my proposal and merged it with an existing indie project I had called Youngblood. Next thing you know, POOF... Image comics was born."

"Shaft was intended to be Speedy. Vogue was a new Harlequin design, Combat was a Kh’undian warrior circa the Legion of Super Heroes, ditto for Photon and Die Hard was a Star Labs android. I forgot who Chapel was supposed to be. So there you have it, the secret origin of Youngblood."

This kind of makes you see Youngblood in a whole new light, doesn't it?

Overwhelmingly positive reader response to this mini-series [apparently it sold really REALLY well] led to a 1989 Hawk & Dove v3 ongoing series that was also written by Karl and Barbara Kesel. Liefeld was NOT the penciller for the new ongoing series (he would begin a regular stint at Marvel comics about 6 months after this mini-series saw print). Liefeld would illustrate Hawk and Dove again in 2011's Hawk & Dove v5 for DC's New 52.

This mini-series had all of the hallmarks of a great book — excellent writing and pacing, fantastic art, interesting characters and support cast, progressive character development, a bit of humor, the introduction of new characters while paying respect to the legacy (lots of Crisis references in here), the creation of bigger over-arching mysteries, a feeling that it was tied to the 'bigger picture' of the DCU — so I'm not surprised it got the green light for an ongoing series.

Barbara Randall Kesel has gone on the record to say that this mini-series was about love and "the way it can invade and change your life without any respect for the way things had been, or perhaps should have been... Our love, and the feeling that a complementary partner is important to our own completion. Love for others, and what it will let you give up or give of yourself...". I totally missed this the first time. Next time I re-read this, I will look more carefully for this.

I would recommend this series to everyone — especially Rob Liefeld fans who want to see some of his early work. This mini-series was last reprinted in 2012's Hawk & Dove: Ghost and Demons TPB — catch it if you can.





-Justin

Special thanks to Titanstower.com for preserving those Rob Liefeld interviews we quoted in this article and those snippets of Forward written by the Kesels as found in the 1993 Hawk & Dove TPB.

Big thanks to Jennifer M. Contino and Matt Brady for having the gumption to interview Barabara Randal and Rob Liefeld about this mini-series over a decade ago — without your interviews, this article would've mainly consisted of educated guesses and speculation on my part.



Read more:

You can read more about the original 1968 Hawk & Dove at Dial "B" for Blog's The Secret Origins of Hawk and Dove.

An entry from Fraser Sherman's blog reveals that writer Steve Skeates had different ideas for the original 1968 Hawk & Dove duo, but was discouraged by DC editorial.

Adam Strange in the 80s

You may remember Adam Strange from all those cool Silver Age science-fiction/adventure comics during the late 50s to the early 70s (i.e., Showcase, Mystery In Space, and Strange Adventures). We won't be talking about those today. Instead, we'll be covering Adam Strange's appearances from 1978's Showcase all the way up to his appearances prior to L.E.G.I.O.N. '90.

To the rest of us who really don't know who he is, Adam Strange was that guy with a jet pack and laser pistol who was usually found flying around battling some odd other-dimensional creature or menace. And for some reason he was very concerned with Zeta-Beams. There's actually a lot more to him than that.

A bit of background: Adam Strange first appeared in Showcase #17 (1958) and there's a bit of discrepancy about who created him. Some sources cite that he was created by editor Julie Schwartz and his costume was designed by Murphy Anderson, while other sources are stating that it was Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. Schwartz is regarded as the 'godfather' of the Silver Age of Comic Books and the brains behind the introduction of the Silver Age versions of the Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Hawkman (Carter Hall) and the Atom (Ray Palmer). Showcase itself was a 'testing-the-waters' type of anthology comic as they frequently introduced new characters, gauged reader reaction, and decided if the character was worthy of continued appearances. [The foreword in the Adam Strange Archives v1 by Jim Amash reveals that it was a group effort: original concept by Schwartz, costume design by Anderson, scripting by Fox and illustrated by Sekowsky. Phew!]

Adam Strange was popular enough to appear as a regular feature in Mystery in Space (usually getting the cover) from 1959 to 1965. He then had a bit of resurgence in the late 60s and appeared in [Adam] Strange Adventures/Gigantic Strange Adventures/Strange Adventures from 1969 to 1973 (mainly as reprints). [Admittedly, my knowledge of the Silver Age of DC comics is pretty weak, so I've included some links at the bottom of this article you can check out.] Adam Strange had a bit of a presence in Justice League of America through the early-to-mid 70s, but not enough to really consider him a primary or secondary character in the book. And that's where Adam left off in 1977, now onto 1978...

Showcase #100 (1978) was a 'jam issue' of sorts, celebrating it's centennial issue by featuring every DC character who "made Showcase famous". This included the Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Hawkman, the Atom, Rip Hunter, the Teen Titans, Hawk & Dove, Lois Lane, Space Ranger, Tommy Tomorrow, and countless others... even 'funny' characters like Sugar & Spike, Binky and the Inferior Five had appearances.

Nothing really noteworthy about Adam Strange in this issue, except that he's hailed as "the best in the universe at Space-Fighting" (that honor is also shared with Green Lantern). He also gets a chance to drop a bit of science on us by explaining in visual detail how the Doppler Effect works - reminding us that Adam Strange is a 'scientific' hero who uses his wits and science know-how above all else to defeat his opponents. Adam Strange had appeared in Justice League of America a year ago, so it would be expected that he was still contemporary enough for readers to know who he was. It's not really considered canonical to the DCU, but was a "fun" issue nonetheless.

Immediately following his appearance in Showcase #100, Adam Strange teamed up with Hawkman and Hawkgirl in Showcase issues #101, #102 and #103. Written by Jack C Harris and illustrated by Al Milgrom (penciller) and Murphy Anderson (inker), Adam Strange joins forces with the Hawks to defend his adoptive world of Rann from an invasion of... Thanagarians? [Would that make this the first Rann vs Thanagar war?] It's revealed throughout the course of the story that the entire skirmish was orchestrated by two early 1960s Justice League of America villains who were feuding with each other and using the respective planets as pawns. It's a bit of a throwback to DC's Silver Age, as I seem to recall Adam Strange and Hawkman teaming up a few times. It's not the most fascinating read and kind of ends the way you'd expect it to, but this three issue story arc would play a BIG role in the Hawks continuity and would be repeatedly referenced in future Hawkman/Hawkgirl stories as the reason the Hawks had been banished from Thanagar as traitors (prior to this they were avoiding Thanagar due to the 'Equalization Plague'). It also threw Rann into a massive civil war that would affect future Adam Strange stories. Of note, Showcase #104 was the last issue in the series.

DC Comics Presents #3 (1978) was Adam Strange's next comic book appearance. DC Comics Presents was essentially a 'Superman team-up' book and a lot of the allure was guessing which DC character Superman would be teaming up with next. This Superman/Adam Strange team-up follows the events of the Rann/Thanager War previously mentioned in Showcase, and re-introduces an old Adam Strange foe last seen in the early 60s. By now you've noticed that this is the third early 60s super-villain that DC has re-introducing to a late 70s audience in 1978. This issue was written by David Michelinie (with Jack C Harris in a consulting role) and illustrated by José Luis Garcia Lopez.

The reason I'm briefly covering the last few years of the seventies is so you have some sort of context as to what Adam Strange was dealing with going into the eighties. Nothing drastic had changed since his Silver Age appearances - he was still a smart scientific-based superhero who was in love with his wife Alanna and his adoptive planet of Rann (and, for some reason I didn't understand, would die if he set foot on the planet earth. More on that later.)


Brave and the Bold #161 (1980) was a quick yarn about Batman and Adam Strange switching places to solve each other's case. Similar in concept to DC Comics Presents, Brave and the Bold was a 'team-up' title that had Batman teaming up with someone new every month. Gerry Conway wrote this one, and Jim Aparo illustrated.

This issue includes a quick origin recap telling us how Adam became the champion of Rann - with no mention of the Rann/Thanagar War that had happened two years prior. I'm not a 'continuity hound' by any means, but other readers picked up on these details too.

Brave and the Bold #161 hit the newsstands around the same time as World's Finest #262, which also contained a Hawkman/Hawkgirl story featuring Adam Strange. In this sci-fi/mystery tale, written by J.M. DeMatteis and edited by Jack C Harris, the Hawks have a very clear memory of the Rann/Thanagar War from Showcase and even reference the aforementioned BatB issue. The Hawkman/Hawkgirl story ends with a lead in to Adam Strange's solo-story as featured in World's Finest #263.

World's Finest #263 (1980) credits Schwartz and Fox as the creators of Adam Strange.

Adam's solo story was written by Jack C Harris and illustrated by James Sherman and Steve Mitchell. To be completely frank with you, of all the stories I've reviewed for this article so far, this is the best Adam Strange story I've read. Jack C Harris seems like one of the only writers/editors who seemed to care enough to keep Adam's continuity straight. In eight pages, Harris manages to capture all of the elements that make Adam Strange work as a compelling character. Adam Strange is a story about a hero who always makes the best of a bad situation: he was reluctantly abducted by Rann, but used his earthy cunning and scientific know-how to become Rann's champion. He's also a bit of tragic figure: he's at the mercy of the Zeta-Beam, which is somewhat unpredictable and tends to put a strain on his relationship with his wife Alanna (will they ever see each other again? when is he coming back?) and he cannot go back to earth without risk of death (a place he is homesick for) due to all of the Zeta-Beam radiation he's absorbed. Adam Strange tends to work best in solo stories, where the main focus is on him and he's not sharing the spotlight with Hawkman or Superman. This story builds on the events of the aforementioned Rann/Thanagar War from Showcase. [It was later revealed that this story was originally meant to be published in 1978's Star Hunters ongoing series.]

Adam Strange appears again in the World's Finest #264 Hawkman/Hawkgirl story (which picks up where World's Finest #262 left off), but it's just to say good-bye to Hawkman. As part of DC's 1980 commitment to bring you 'more pages for your money', an Adam Strange back-up feature would start in Green Lantern v2 later that month and run until December 1981.

Just look at all the cool back-up features that started appearing in DC titles. All this for a 10 cent price increase per book!

Jack C Harris was editing Green Lantern v2 when Adam Strange started being featured as a back-up. [Are you noticing a pattern here?]  Thankfully, Green Lantern had been leaning more towards 'cosmic' tales (first with the inclusion of the Green Lantern Corps back-up stories and then with more space adventures), so Adam Strange fit right 'in theme'. The first eleven issues of these back-ups (which were written by Laurie Sutton and edited by Jack C Harris) quickly resolved the Rann Civil War story line [which had been brewing since World's Finest #263] and now allowed Adam Strange to revisit earth. Len Wein edited a back-up story after Harris left as editor, and Dave Manak picked up  editing chores after Wein until the end of Adam's back-ups in Green Lantern v2 #147 (1981). The majority of the 8 page stories were illustrated by Rodin Rodriguez (with inks by Tex Blaisdell, Vince Colletta, Dennis Jensen, Pablo Marcos or Larry Mahlstedt) and Carmine Infantino pencilled a few (with Murphy Anderson inking at least one).

The Green Lantern v2 Adam Strange back-up tales were self-contained stories that primarily focused on Adam Strange, his core supporting cast and the planet of Rann (so no appearances by Hawkman nor the rest of the Justice League). The stories didn't really do anything drastic with the character and were nice little throw-backs to the Silver Age of DC comics. While they were good, there was some crazy stuff happening in Green Lantern v2 at the time - Marv Wolfman was writing for the title and re-introducing a lot of sci-fi elements to the series (ex: Silver Age sci-fi characters Space Ranger and Cryll were making guest appearances, the Gordanians were introduced, the Omega Men made their debut) - and I don't see why Adam Strange didn't get tied into this, especially with Wolfman's efforts to show a sense of cohesion within the DCU.

In the letter column for Green Lantern v2 #137 (1981), Harris confirms that these first few back-up stories were originally written by him and meant for another title [my guess would be 1978's Star Hunters], were shelved, and later revived and scripted by Sutton to be published in Green Lantern v2. I can't confirm this, but I suspect all the 1980 '8 page back-up features' were originally casualties of the 1978 DC Implosion and just recycled to appear in other titles. Harris is a pretty cool cat, and we managed to catch up with him and chat about his work on Adam Strange.

1978's Star Hunters #4

Due to a tepid response from readers, the Adam Strange back-up features were bumped for the more interesting Green Lantern Corps back-ups that had previously been running in Green Lantern v2. (It was hinted that Mike W Barr had some really interesting ideas for Adam Strange stories and wanted to take over the character.) Fandom just wasn't ready for an Adam Strange revival, yet. Coincidentally, it was reported that sales for Green Lantern v2 dipped pretty badly after the Space Ranger story [#136 - #137], and started climbing again after the Omega Men were introduced [#141].

I wasn't sure if I should include Justice League of America v1 #200 [1982] as an Adam Strange appearance. Yes, Adam does appear, but only on two pages as a deux ex machina. (Don't get me wrong, Justice League #200 is a fantastic book and should be checked out for it's own merits - especially the all-star cast of talent illustrating the anniversary issue). The issue contains a quick mention about the Rann/Thanagar War from Showcase - so it's nice to see that they're still keeping up with that continuity. It's also suggested that Adam and Hawkman's friendship has been strained since then - which might account for why Adam Strange hadn't appeared in any Hawkman adventures since World's Finest. This is just my speculation, however.

In 1982's Brave and Bold #191, Batman and Adam Strange meet up again - this time under graver circumstances [aren't they always?] as Batman needed to solve the mystery of who murdered Adam Strange. Edited by Dick Giordano, was this the Mike W Barr written story they were hinting at? Barr began writing Green Lantern v2 shortly after that missive was announced in 1982's Green Lantern letter column. Maybe Barr had a plan to include a Green Lantern/Adam Strange team-up story during his run and it never happened? In fact, Barr was writing for Green Lantern v2 as he wrote this issue. All things considered, BatB #191 was a very good issue and made reference to Batman's previous visit to Rann all the way back in BatB #161, so you know it's canonical. Other readers did not agree. Particularly one reader who was most likely the editor/writer for the Amazing Heroes comic book fan magazine who would later become a well-known writer for DC and Marvel comics and would win multiple Eisner Awards in 2012. In the letter column of BatB #195 (1983), someone named 'Mark Waid' wrote in and directly addressed Mike W Barr and Dick Giordano to say:

"I hate to put it quite this way, but I've been with B&B for twenty years now. Twenty years. And I must say that, in all that time, there was never as bad a story as 'Who Killed Adam Strange?'."

Waid goes on to pick apart the plot - which, to be fair - did have a few things that didn't make sense or were 'out of character' for Batman, and concludes with:

"Come on. A bad story isn't something to shoot for, but a great idea turned into a bad story is a crime. Think next time you, Mr. Barr, write a mystery and, Mr. Giordano, edit one. I haven't been this let down by a comic in a long time, and I doubt seriously that I have ever seen another that so much deserved never to have seen the light of day."

What's kind of ironic here is that Mike W. Barr would go on to write The Maze Agency for Comico in 1988 - a mystery comic series that would be nominated for an Eisner Award that same year. Clearly Barr knows how to write mystery. BatB would conclude 9 issues later at issue #200 [are you seeing a pattern here?] and would be replaced on the spinner racks by Batman and the Outsiders (also written by Barr).

DC Comics Presents #82 (1985) has Adam Strange teaming up with Superman, again. Written by Cary Bates, if you need one good reason to check out this comic book... it's for the gorgeous Klaus Janson art. It's a self-contained story about an ancient mystical Kryptonian villain attacking Rann, and should probably be recognized as the end of an era as Julius Schwartz was the  editor for this issue and pretty soon Superman would get Byrne-d and lose all of those cool Kryptonian legacy gimmicks that made him so fun to read in the Silver Age. Bates gave equal attention to Adam Strange and Superman in this issue, so it was a nice introduction to the character for any readers unfamiliar with him.

[This article is getting way longer than intended, so I'm just going to skip his appearances in Crisis On Infinite Earths, since he really doesn't do very much in that maxi-series cross-over. Same with the 1987/1988 Millennium event. -J]

If you've made it this far, congratulations. You must really care about the comings and goings of Adam Strange in the 80s, or are reading with a mild interest to see if I'm going to mention the Alan Moore revision. Well, your waiting has finally paid off.

Full disclosure: I am a major Alan Moore fan. I don't worship the ground he walks on by any means, but I feel that a lot of what he's written for comics is brilliant and influential. That being said, it is with a lack of personal bias that I tell you that the two-issue Adam Strange story in Swamp Thing v2 #57 - 58 (1987) is *the most important* Adam Strange story of the 1980s. This is Adam's first post-Crisis appearance and the story begins by taking a look at one of the less glamour aspects of Adam Strange's life - namely, chasing down Zeta-Beams to get back to Rann to be with his hot wife.

Despite being a Swamp Thing comic, Moore really delves into the personal life of Adam Strange, including:

• his disdain for having to protect Rann from monsters when all he'd rather be doing is spending time with Alanna, 
• the general population's contempt for him (as they feel he's no better than a primate), 
• and the fact that Adam is aware of the general population's feelings towards him.   

In Swamp Thing #58, Moore really shakes up the Adam Strange mythos by revealing that:

• Rann's environment had been severly damaged due to a tiny thermonuclear war several centuries ago and vast jungles have now become barren desertland,
• the population of Rann is sterile (possibly from the same radiation that killed off the vegetation), and
• Adam Strange was originally Zeta-Beamed by Rann to help re-populate the planet (starting with impregnating Alanna).

[That second point really sent me into a frenzy as I searched through every 1980s Adam Strange story I could find looking for children or babies on Rann. The only one I found was a kid named 'Rad' from the Green Lantern v2 back-ups, but it's eventually revealed that he's much older than he appears to be - so that doesn't really count. -J]

The Rann/Thanagar tension is alluded to, but the Rann/Thanagar War from Showcase is not acknowledged. [Perhaps it never happened as a result of Crisis on Infinite Earths?] Swamp Thing v2 #58 ends with an implication that the Thanagarians are plotting to invade earth. Readers had pointed out that the sinister motives of the Thanagarians in these issues kept in line with the Thanagarians depicted in 1985's The Shadow War of Hawkman mini-series. This two-issue Swamp Thing/Adam Strange story arc concludes with the announcement that Alanna is pregnant with (presumably) Adam's child - thus ending Rann's infertility streak.

These issues are important because a big hallmark of the 80s was the revelation that our Silver Age heroes were not as noble as they were previously depicted. Rann is no longer being presented as a futuristic paradise, but a civilization rife with it's own problems. Adam Strange is no longer presented as the unselfish & virtuous champion of Rann, but a man who gets to live a luxurious life with a beautiful woman on a faraway planet in exchange for being a breeding stud (and destroyer of monsters). Moore doesn't get all of the credit for this. It was revealed by editor Karen Berger, in the letter column of Swamp Thing v2 #62 (1987), that:

"The new approach to Adam Strange and Rann was actually the combination of Alan's talents and those of the writer of a new Adam Strange mini-series due to be released about a year from now, Donald. Alan was always planning to include a "Strange" adventure in Swampy's space odyssey stories, and when he heard of the character's new direction, he very graciously incorporated and established a number of the elements and events of the upcoming series (not to mention creating a solid batch of "Strange" concepts of his own as well)."

Berger didn't want to name the writer of the proposed Adam Strange mini-series, but it's a pretty good bet that she was referring to Richard Bruning and the Adam Strange: Man of Two Worlds three-issue limited series published in 1990.

Adam Strange next appears in 1988's Cosmic Odyssey - a four issue prestige-format limited series that gathered a few of DC's more popular characters (including the New Gods) to battle a cosmic threat. When Rann is being affected by an 'insanity plague', Starfire and Lightray arrive on the scene to assist. A promising team-up for Adam Strange, Starfire and Lightray is quickly 86ed when Adam is subdued early in the adventure and spends the majority of the issue KO'd. Ah well.

Cosmic Odyssey #2 (1988)

Cosmic Odyssey is a beautiful book, penciled by Mike Mignola and inked by Carlos Garzon. Written by Jim Starlin, this book included an all-star line-up of Batman, Superman, Starfire (of the Teen Titans), Green Lantern (John Stewart), Martian Manhunter, Doctor Fate, and Darkseid. Adam Strange getting to rub shoulders with these guys is a great introduction to the character for new readers. The big take-away here is that Rann is still acknowledged as an important facet of the DC cosmic universe (as is Hawkman's homeworld, Thanagar). Adam Strange and Rann are still very much a part of the DCU, which bodes well for the future of the character.

Adam Strange appears in 1988's Invasion! cross-over event as he decides to 'take one for the team' and surrenders himself to the invading Alliance forces to keep Rann from being attacked. In keeping with the previously-established continuity, Adam's soon-to-be born child is mentioned by Alanna before he voluntarily surrenders himself. As a prisoner, Adam 'spies' on the Alliance forces and notifies earth. He manages to escape his captors, but gets re-captured and is ultimately saved by Firestorm, Power Girl, Firehawk and Starman. His misadventures on Starlag (location where the Alliance is holding it's prisoners) indirectly causes the L.E.G.I.O.N. to form. You may not quickly identify Adam in this Keith Giffen-penned epic, as he spends the majority of his appearances in Invasion! #1, Firestorm v1 #80, Starman v1 #5 and Invasion! #2 out of his traditional red 'space cadet' costume and in a blue prison uniform.

Invasion #1 (1988)

Of note, Adam appears one final time in 1989 to say something soothing to Abby Arcane as she deals with the death of a loved one in Swamp Thing v2 #84. This appearance directly references his appearance in Swamp Thing v2 #61 (1987) in which he tried to deliver a message to Abby on behalf of the 'lost in space' Swamp Thing.

...and this concludes our article on Adam Strange's major appearances in the 1980s. The transition of Adam Strange from altruistic space cadet to the dark reluctant hero of Rann is slowly starting to unfold and we'll be seeing more of this in the early 90s. I'm sure we'll get around to covering his early 90s appearances (including his 3-issue mini-series) at some point in the near future.

In the meantime, he's a few articles about the Silver Age Adam Strange articles you can enjoy:

• Rip Dagger's Dojo: Silver Age JLA - Adam Strange!
• Silver Age comics: Adam Strange Clichés
• Silver Age comics: A collection of Mystery in Space review (and other cool stuff)