SMOOSH JUICE
Wednesday Comics: DC, August 1984 (week 2)
I’m reading DC Comics’ output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I’m reviewing the comics released on the week of May 17, 1984.
Sgt. Rock Annual #4: This was, I think, the actual first issue of a Sgt. Rock comic I bought. There weren’t many of those–this may be the only one. It was the cover that captured my interest, I suspect. The story gives almost as much “screen time” to the Iron Major as to Rock himself. We see how he lost his hand to frostbite on the Eastern Front saving a soldier in his command from a freezing river, a soldier that dies this issue before he can get him to medical attention. The Iron Major is the sort of honorable Wehrmacht soldier that crops up in Kanigher’s stories, the better to portray wear as a tragedy for all involved, I suppose. In this story, though, there are examples of German war crime and depravity for the Major (and the reader) to disapprove of, dispelling any idea he might be typical. In the end, faced with being complicit with war crimes, he chooses to shoot an SS officer who would use see the people of a village killed to get at Easy Company. He and Rock part with an understanding–but an understanding that includes the likelihood of one of them killing the other in the future.
Batman #374: Nice cover by Newton and Giordano. Moench and Newton/Alcala bring back the Penguin who hasn’t been a solo villain in a story since 1982 in Brave and the Bold #185. The story does a bit of a thing I don’t like in comics: where the feelings (or presumed feelings) of the readership is projected into the world of the comics. Penguin perhaps isn’t taken seriously as a villain in 1984 perhaps due to hangover from the 60s Batman TV show, ergo in the DC Universe Penguin isn’t taken seriously. Still, I like the characterization Moench gives him. It’s a bit like Meredith’s TV portrayal but with a greater hint of menace. If the Penguin isn’t considered a threat in the DCU, he seems to be saying, it isn’t because he isn’t actually threatening. Anyway, the Penguin is staging a series of crimes so he can get the recognition he feels like he deserves. He pulls off his caper and gets away with information that could lead to international geopolitical consequences. Meanwhile, Vicki frets over whether to publish a shot she snapped of him that portrays him in the light he wants–and of course, she’s also still worried about Julia perhaps moving in on Bruce. A worker at Gotham children services is convinced Jason needs to be taken from Bruce. If she only knew!
Arak Son of Thunder #36: In the aftermath of the defeat and unmasking of the serpent men, there are suspicions regarding the identity of the traitor in their midst with Alsind’s uncle and Arak having a mutual mistrust. Josephus tells them to seek the sword, and Arak does just that with his vague, demigod powers. He leads them to a place to dig where eventually they break into a buried chamber with the burning sword floating in the air. After Arak grasps the sword a giant worm attacks them reveals himself to have the upper torso of a man and the body of a snake. Arak kills him, but as he dies the Lord of Serpents projects his image into the room and whisks Alsind and his Sharizad away with magic. Alsind’s mother is revealed as the traitor, and she is killed by his uncle. Arak vows to get the youths back.
There’s another “Young Arak” backup with art by Forton but really nothing of import happens, other than we get some Quontaukan (borrowed) mythology about the world being on back of a turtle.
Flash #336: I don’t know that this run gets the credit (or the blame) for it, but this is pretty close to 21st Century style decompression here in the Bronze Age. The most noteworthy thing in this installment is there really isn’t even a super-villain adversary in it. The Flash has saved the Mayor from mind-control enforced suicide and the Mayor tells him about the hypnotism, but the Flash is unable to trace the control device to the Pied Piper. When he’s told about the rockslide destroying Peter’s house, he races to check on Cecile and is told a dead woman has been found in the ruins–but it winds up being someone else: the assistant of a tabloid journalist bugging the home. Realizing where Cecile must be, the Flash digs at super-speed to reveal the intact sensory deprivation tank with a still-living Cecile inside. Cecile is momentarily grateful, but her coldness toward Flash soon returns. We learn later this issue that she blames the Flash for the death of someone whose grave she visits. The Flash tracks down the men who set off the bomb above the house and links them to crooked attorney N.D. Redik. Redik jumps from a window to commit suicide rather than go to jail.
G.I. Combat #268: In the first Haunted Tank story, Stuart’s Raiders are exhausted and ordered to R&R in a small French town near the front. Mostly, they slip around a table in the cafe while the populace, grateful for their efforts, do things for them. When the German’s attack the town, though, the Raiders can’t let the civilians fight the battle alone. The second story is “Battle of Two Flags” and I think Kanigher has done this idea before, complete with elevating the Confederate battle flag, albeit divorced from any historical context.
There’s a story by Kashdan and Cruz about an American MP whose shiny brass belt buckle saves his life, then a Mercenaries installment that sees the trio agreeing to arm and train a group of Pacific Islanders to fight their enemies for a handful of pearls. The Islanders are poor modern soldiers and ultimately reject the weapons and training of the Mercenaries as useless, instead finding the courage to fight in the way they already know.
Omega Men #17: Moench takes over as new regular writer with Smith/Tanghal handling art duties. Felicity begins acting strangely and Doc determines she is receiving a telepathic distress call. After determining the source, a group of Omega Men fly off to check it out. They find an asteroid and beign to explore.They accidently reactive an ancient Psion experiment which starts producing duplicates of Tigorr. They began attacking each other and then the Omegan’s ship. Primus goes into the cave Tigorr originally entered to investigate.
Meanwhile on Euphorix, the judiciary recommends exile for Alonzo Dulak for his part in the “Crisis of the Shield,” and a distracted Kalista concurs. A spy carries word to Harry Hokum who plans to woo Dulak to his side.
Star Trek #7: Barr and Barreto/Villagran put Saavik through pon farr (erroneously spelled “pon far” throughout this issue), so Kirk and crew must divert to Vulcan with Kirk’s son, David, who happens to be visiting, to find Saavik’s intended, Xon (whose name is an easter egg for Trek fans, being named for a character who would have appeared in the scrapped Star Trek Phase II series). The problem is Xon isn’t there and is on some secret mission for the Vulcan government. Saavik finds out where he is from Sarek’s computer and steals a ship to go after him, and Enterprise pursues her. We get Saavik’s origin as half-Romulan, an idea that appeared in the Wrath of Khan script and in a line of dialogue filmed but cut. Fans had deduced she was part Romulan, though, based on the fact that the language she and Spock spoke in a scene in WOK wasn’t Vulcan as presented in ST:TMP. Anyway, this detail and the tease about Spock’s katra suggest Barr is getting access to inside information.
Superman #398: In the first story, Cavalieri and Swan/Hunt bring back Mickey Norris for his last appearance, the kid Superman fan we first saw in issue 388. Mickey is inadvertently causing problems for the Man of Steel as he plays because he’s conjuring menaces and stealing Superman’s powers each time he pretends to have one. Superman uses Mickey’s powers to his advantage, having the kid conjure a solution. The second story by Kupperberg and Saviuk/Jensen is sillier but I kind of like it: Superman’s Clark Kent clothes stored in the secret pocket of his cape get inhabited and animated by alien energy lifeforms.
Tales of the Teen Titans #45: Wolfman and Perez/de Carlo pick up an unspecified time after last issue. Changeling is still dealing poorly with the death of Terra as the other Titans try to get on with their lives with Donna’s wedding to Terry approaching. Joe and Raven develop a friendship as Raven continues to deal with things she won’t share. Wally and Francine visit, but Wally doesn’t share that the use of his power is causing him pain and he maybe be seriously ill. An immediate crisis emerges when Aqualad and Aquagirl show up at the Tower near death. After they are given medical care, Aqualad tells them that the H.I.V.E. has attacked Atlantis. The team wants to put a stop to H.I.V.E. once and for all.