From Beyond the Unknown #6

From Beyond the Unknown #6 (On Sale: June 23, 1970) has a cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with our cover-story "The Amazing Human Race" by John Broome, Sid Greene and Bernard Sachs and reprinted from Strange Adventures #85. Next is "The Runaway Space-Train" by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Bernard Sachs and reprinted from Mystery In Space #50. We end with "The Magic Lamp from Space" by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Mystery In Space #62.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Unexpected #119

Unexpected #119 (On Sale: April 2, 1970) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Deadliest of All?" drawn by Bernie Wrightson. That is followed by "The Swampchild" by Carl Wessler, Werner Roth and Frank Giacoia. Next is "Rachel Isn't Ready to Die" by George Kashdan, Sid Greene and Vinny Colletta. We next have "Rest in Pieces" drawn by Murphy Anderson and reprinted in Unexpected #160. We end with "A Phantom in the Tree" by Murray Boltinoff and Jerry Grandenetti.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Strange Adventures #224

Strange Adventures #224 (On Sale: March 12, 1970) has an Adam Strange cover by Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with Adam Strange in "The Weapon That Swallowed Men" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Mystery In Space #63. Rann is invaded by alien conquerors using a device called the vacuumizer which changes the Ranagarans into a gas vapor. Adam Strange is altered by the weapon, but returns to Earth intact when the Zeta Beam wears off. When he returns Adam finds that the people have been restored but the aliens have uses the weapons to steal the city of Ranagar itself.

Adam believes that the vacuumizer can only transmute one substance at a time, so he devises a plan to stop the aliens. As Adam and several Ranagaran soldiers approach the invaders, the vacuumizer is used against them, but they have coated themselves with different liquid metals. The vacuumizer must be adjusted to deal with each layer of metal. The delay gives the defenders enough time to catch the aliens and defeat them hand-to-hand. With the vacuumizers in the hands of the Ranagarans, Ranagar is restored, and the aliens leave Rann.

Next is "The Planet That Advanced Backward" from Mystery In Space #41 by Bill Finger, Sid Greene and Bernard Sachs.

We end the issue with the Atomic Knights in "Attack of the Giant Dogs" by John Broome and Murphy Anderson from Strange Adventures #138. After finding two giant dalmatians that survived the war inside a test rocket, the Atomic Knights return to Durvale. The town is attacked by Khagan and the Atlantides. Gardner and the other Knights chase them off, but not before Hollis and Douglas are injured.

Gardner decides to mount a counterattack against the Atlantides. He uses the dogs to track them down, then he and Wayne use them as mounts to defeat the enemy soldiers. The Atlantide menace is finally ended. The town welcomes the dogs for their part in the victory. The dogs soon have puppies, that may eventually grow into giants too.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

From Beyond the Unknown #4

From Beyond the Unknown #4 (On Sale: February 19, 1970) has a cover by Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with our cover-story, "Riddle of the Vanishing Earthmen" from Mystery in Space #32 by Gardner Fox, Sid Greene and Joe Giella. Next is "Our Home is in the Stars" from Mystery in Space #65 by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. We end with "The Surprise Package Planet" from Mystery in Space #47 by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

DC Special #7

DC Special #7 (On Sale: February 19, 1970) has a cover by Murphy Anderson on the theme Strangest Sports Stories, something Julius Schwartz seemed to like but which never interested me much.

This issue begins with "Gorilla Wonders of the Diamond" from Brave and the Bold #49 by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. Next is "The Hot-Shot Hoopsters" from Brave and the Bold #46 also by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. That is followed by "The Man Who Drove Through Time" Brave and the Bold #48 by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene. Next we have "Goliath of the Gridiron" from Brave and the Bold #45 by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. We end with "Solar Olympics of 3000 A.D" from Mystery in Space #39 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Unexpected #117

Unexpected #117 (On Sale: December 4, 1969) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with Johnny Peril in "Midnight Summons the Executioner" by George Kashdan and Sid Greene. This is the last Johnny Peril story for ten years. Next is "Hands of Death" by Murray Boltinoff and Jerry Grandenetti. That is followed by "The House That Hate Built" by Carl Wessler and George Tuska. This story was reprinted in Unexpected #161. We end with "Death of the Man Who Never Lived" by Carl Wessler and Bruno Premiani.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

House of Secrets #84

House of Secrets #84 (On Sale: December 2, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams.

The book begins and ends with a nice framing sequence drawn by Bill Draut. The first tale is "If I Had But World Enough and Time" by Len Wein, Dick Dillin and Mike Peppe, a tale of suburbia and the perils and ultimate escape that can be found in watching a lot of television.

That is followed by "Double or Nothing" by Marv Wolfman and Sid Greene. This is a tale about Clifford King who runs a crooked gambling room and learns that even crooked games are no match for a man with the right "system."

Next is "The Unbelievable! The Unexplained" by Steve Skeates, Jack Sparling and Jack Abel. Ruth has a plan to steal her uncle's estate by having him committed and placed into a nursing home. Who can blame her, the old guy was catatonic, staring off into space as if he had seen something too horrible to accept. Shortly after moving in to her uncle's home and shortly after he dies in the nursing home, Ruth is busy looking for the deed to the home when she finds a mysterious key. Once in her had the key begins to throb and Ruth is forced to go where the key demands, in this case to an old house in the fog. There she opens a door and sees something, something beyond description that drives her mad. Somehow she makes it back to the estate, but she is in a catatonic state much like her uncle. Well, ,she coveted everything he had, and she got what she coveted. I liked the way that Skeates was able to immerse Abel into the story on this one.

The last story in the book is our cover-story, "If I Should Die Before I Wake..." by Len Wein and Jack Sparling, the story of Alan Fry, a man who dares not sleep for when he does he is attacked by Morlon in the land of Somnia. Fry tries to find refuge at a psychiatrist's office, but Morlon finds him even there. The entire contents were reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Secrets Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Our Army at War #214

Our Army at War #214 (On Sale: November 4, 1969) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "Easy Co... Where Are You?" drawn by Russ Heath. That is followed by a Great Battles of History story, "The Bastille" written and drawn by Ric Estrada. We end with "My Coffin, the Tank" drawn by Sid Greene.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Unexpected #116

Unexpected #116 (On Sale: October 7, 1969) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with a Mad Mod Witch story, "Express Train to Nowhere" by Dave Wood and Artie Saaf. Four passengers board a train to, well, we are not sure. they are Alex, just fired from his job for having no imagination or drive; Doc, a brilliant surgeon leaving the city to become a country doctor because of shaky hands; Linda, an artist who flopped int he big city and is now heading back home in shame, and Zaroff, a circus aerialist who turned to crime to make ends meet, now on the lam.

The train heads into a strange mist and stops. The four exit the train only to find a world of zombie like automatons. They realize their train has vanished in the mist so they attempt to follow the automatons but find themselves trapped by an electronic barrier. Alex convinces Linda to use her makeup to make him look like one of the automatons and in his disguise he is able to pass through the barrier. With Linda's help they all get free.

Only now they find their path blocked by a giant skull. Though Doc doesn't think he can do it, they talk him into climbing the skull and using Linda's nail file and scissors he is able to operate on the skull, triggering the jaw to open. Inside they find a path that eventually is bisected by a deep chasm. Zaroff uses their shirts and jackets to make a rope and uses it to carry Linda across the chasm, like walking a tightrope. Doc realizes that he has seen Zaroff's face on a wanted poster and wants nothing to do with him, but the others convince him to use the improvised rope to cross with them.

Once on th other side they hear the sound of a train whistle in the distance and make a run for it, finding the train pulling out just as they get there. In a mad dash they all make it and the train ends up back where they started. But Linda now has confidence in her artwork and decides to stay, Alex feels he has plenty of imagination and aggressiveness and decides he will prove it, Doc realizes he still has some surgical skills and notices how steady his hands now are, and Zaroff decides to turn himself in and take his punishment. As Alex leaves he knows that once he feels he is a success he will be looking Linda up.

Next is "Steps to Disaster" drawn by Pat Boyette. A Dutch cobbler finds a piece of mahogany floating int he water and decides to make some wooden shoes out of the beautiful wood. A worker in the tulip fields kills his boss and takes the payroll and heads out of town, planning to steal a boat for England. One night a week later he sees the cobbler making shoes and needing shoes he steals the mahogany ones and kills the cobbler. He then steals a sloop and heads for England, but is pulled out to the deep Atlantic by a storm, being pulled ever northward for days. A sudden lurch tosses him into the water where the wooden shoes begin to pull him down. He sees an iceberg as a spectre of death and then sees hundreds of skeletal people trapped in an ice prison. A giant face materializes saying that it is his own evil that has brought him to this place. The shoes pull him under and as he dies the shoes slip from his feet sinking to the bottom where they come to rest at the wreck of the Titanic, where the mahogany beam had come from. Reprinted in Unexpected #162.

Next is "Mad To Order" a one-pager inked by Murphy Anderson. I don't know who penciled it. In it a man invites two tailors into his room for a fitting of a new jacket, but finds the jacket too small, too tight and too constraining. As they leave the room we see him in a straight jacket in his cell saying how he will never by anything from them again.

That is followed by "Ball of String" drawn by Bernie Wrightson. Ethatn had been saving string since he was a small boy and had amassed a gigantic ball, when his landlord threw him our for keeping "that sphere of rubbish." In a fit of rage Ethan kills his landlord and wraps his body up in the ball of string. He places the ball into an open carriage and heads out for the country to bury the body. However, his cat had grabbed a hold of the end of the string and as Ethan drove through town the ball was slowly unwinding, revealing the body inside to a passing policeman. Reprinted in Unexpected #161.

Lastly is "Ashes to Ashes, Dustin to Dust" by Murray Boltinoff and Sid Greene.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Our Army at War #213

Our Army at War #213 (On Sale: October 2, 1969) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "A Letter for Bulldozer" by Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath. that is followed by "The Ghost Bayonets" by Robert Kanigher and Sid Greene. We end with Great Battles in History, "Kadesh" written and drawn by Ric Estrada.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Witching Hour #5

Witching Hour #5 (On Sale: August 19, 1969) has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We began with "The Witching Hour Has Arrived - And I Have A Chilling Tale To Tell!" which is the story wrapper penciled by Alex Toth wherein the witches test the backbone of Cynthia's college boyfriend with their eerie tales.

The first of those is "The Sole Survivor" introduced by Mildred and drawn by Bernie Wrightson. That is followed by "The Non-Believer!" which is a one-page horror story. Next is "A Guy Can Die Laughing" which is introduced by Mordred. "The Computer Game" is Cynthia's tale and it is followed by "My! How small You've Grown!" a one-page tale drawn by Sid Greene.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Atom & Hawkman #45

Atom & Hawkman #45 (On Sale: August 5, 1969) has a nice cover by Joe Kubert for this the last issue of the book. I never thought this book was a good idea in the first place as these two characters had little in common.

The book ends with a feature-length Atom/Hawkman story, "Queen Jean, Why Must We Die?" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. It was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Justice League of America #74

Justice League of America #74 (On Sale: July 24, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams.

"Where Death Fears to Tread" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene continues from the previous issue. Banished living star, Aquarius, got hold of Starman's Cosmic Rod and used it to wipe out of existence all of Earth-Two, except for a sextet of Justice Society members. who along with Black Canary's husband, Larry Lance, are trapped in a mystic sphere of Dr. Fate's creation and the android hero Red Tornado who escaped to Earth-One and is now bringing back the Justice League.

I need to stop here for just a moment to discuss foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a literary device where the author drops hints or clues early on in a story, the more innocuous and seemingly unimportant the better, only to have those hints come back later on as a key component in solving whatever predicament arises in the story. For foreshadowing to work, there has to be somewhat of a slight-of-hand going on, the reader must take in the information but not realize it has any importance. What Denny O'Neil does next is a bit of foreshadowing, but it is so clumsily handled that anyone reading the story can see it for what it is and it takes away something from a story that is of classic importance. Yeah, this is a classic issue for a couple of reasons, as you will soon see, but what you are going to see first is a really fumbled attempt at foreshadowing.

As the JLA traverse the dimensions between Earth-One and Earth-Two, most of the member are protected by Green Lantern's ring. Right before they complete the journey, Green Lantern makes sure he avoids the negative matter universe, whose entrance just happens to be right there, along the inter-dimensional path the heroes travel. Oy!

Aquarius is growing bored with the JSA heroes and is contemplating finishing them off when the JLA heroes pop up. Needing time to figure out what is going on, Aquarius places a mesmeric command in the air and then disappears. Seeing Aquarius flee, Dr. Fate relaxes his energy bubble and when he does so Aquarius's command to "Destroy the Intruders!" takes hold.

We are then treated to a fairly interesting eight-page fight between the JSA and the JLA. The only really important part of this fight is when Green Arrow hits Black Canary with a "stickum arrow" which covers her in a gloppy mess, adhering her to the ground (OK, since Earth-Two and everyone on it have been destroyed I have no idea to what "ground" she is stuck, but she is.). The important thing to remember is that she is stuck and can't move. OK, there is one other important thing, Green Lantern of Earth-One has used his ring to find Aquarius and bring him to the JLA.

Aquarius fights off Green Lantern's energy beams and sends some of his own back in Lantern's direction. The beams of energy coalesce into a huge multi-hued sphere, but Aquarius's aim is a little off and instead of heading for Green Lantern the sphere is heading for Black Canary. Canary's husband, Larry Lance, senses the danger to his wife and does the only thing he can think of to save her, he jumps in front of the sphere and shields her body with his own...and it kills him!

The energy released by the exploding sphere releases the JSA from the murderous command of Aquarius and it also restores Earth-Two and everyone on it, but it kills Black Canary's husband. A few hours later the combined heroes bury Larry Lance and Aquarius shows up and laughs at the anguish of the heroes.

The heroes attack Aquarius and the Green Lanterns are able to taunt Aquarius into following them in the negative matter universe where their rings protect them, but Aquarius is destroyed.
The threat ended the JLA say their good-byes and prepare to return to Earth-One, but before they leave, Black Canary, saying she can't stand the thought of living in a world full of memories of Larry, asks if she can go with them to Earth-One. Superman picks her up and the first of the Golden Age DC characters moves from Earth-Two to Earth-One. This has been reprinted in Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 2 TPB, Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Justice League of America #73

Justice League of America #73 (On Sale: June 12, 1969) has a cover by Joe Kubert featuring none of the Justice League; those are all Justice Society heroes.

"Star Light, Star Bright -- Death Star I See Tonight" is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. Long ago the Council of Living Stars (go figure), removes all energy, save enough to sustain him, from the star Aquarius, who is guilty of some unnamed heinous crimes. Aquarius is adrift in the cosmos for eons, till one day he spies Earth.

The Red Tornado is at JLA headquarters relating a tale of the Justice Society of America to the members at large. It starts with Ted Knight seeing some strange glow in the sky and checking it out as Starman. He blasts the glow with his Cosmic Rod, only to have the blast returned to him with increased force. The "glow" begins to form into a creature and grabs the rod from Starman's hand, leaving him to plummet to the ground, where Larry and Dinah Drake Lance have just entered Knight's observatory, bearing gifts of food.

Starman crashes through the skylight and Dinah gets into her Black Canary garb to do a quick reconnoiter of the grounds. There she is attacked by husband Larry, whom she quickly dispatches. Larry remembers nothing about attacking Dinah and sensing something is very wrong, she summons the rest of the JSA. However, each is delayed by one thing or another, having to do with inanimate objects or unexpected people, such as the small boy on the cover, temporarily gaining amazing powers. Dr Fate senses a dark force is present and attacks. Aquarius makes his presence known and that the Cosmic Rod is beginning to restore his long lost energy.

One by one the JSA attack Aquarius and each is defeated. After Superman and Wonder Woman go down in defeat, the remainder of the team attack en mass, but Aquarius claims that he is done toying with Earth and cold rays of death spread out from his body and the Earth simply fades away. But Dr. Fate, sensing what was happening erected an ectoplasmic shield around the JSA members. Fate explains that Aquarius has transported the people and objects of Earth to another dimension, where they will cease to exist if the JSA members were to die; that the only link Earth has to reality is the minds of the JSAers.

While Aquarius gloats Dr. Fate knows that they have but a slim hope of survival, for before Aquarius transported Earth away Fate sent a telepathic message to the Red Tornado, to go to Earth-One and tell the Justice League what has happened. This story has been reprinted in Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 2 TPB, Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom & Hawkman #44

Atom & Hawkman #45 (On Sale: June 3, 1969) has a wonderful Hawkman cover by Joe Kubert.

Hawkman stars in "The Ghost Laughs Last" by Robert Kanigher and Murphy Anderson. This one features the Gentleman ghost and Hawkgirl and was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

The Atom stars in "Hate is Where You Find It" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Justice League of America #72

Justice League of America #72 (On Sale: April 24, 1969) has a wonderful Joe Kubert cover.

The full-length Justice League of America strip "13 Days to Doom," is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. It was reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC and Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Our Army at War #207

Our Army at War #207 (On Sale: April 1, 1969) has a Sgt. Rock cover by Joe Kubert.

We begin with Sgt. Rock in "A Sparrow's Prayer" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. The back-ups are "Top of the World" drawn by Sid Greene and "SOS Send Our Food" by Mike Friedrich and Ed Robbins. This is the second of Ed Robbins' 1969 DC stories.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

Atom & Hawkman #43

Atom & Hawkman #43 (On Sale: April 1, 1969) has a cover by Joe Kubert.

Hawkman stars in "Come to My Hanging" by Robert Kanigher and Murphy Anderson. It was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB. The Atom stars in "Buzzin', Buzzin' -- Who's Got the Buzzin'?" by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Justice League of America #71

Justice League of America #71 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos.

"...and So My World Ends" is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. The new, powerless Wonder Woman and her martial arts mentor I-Ching appear in this issue and the Martian Manhunter leaves Earth. Reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 9 HC.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Atom & Hawkman #42

Atom & Hawkman #42 (On Sale: February 4, 1969) has a great cover by Joe Kubert.

"When Gods Make Madness" is by Denny O'Neil, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene. In this joint Atom and Hawkman story, Carter Hall and Ray Palmer are leaving a scientists' convention in Midway City, when they are attacked by a man with a tear gas grenade, which knocks out Carter. The Atom attacks him, but is startled to find the enemy is Carter's double. This man disappears in the symbol of Shiva, Hindu god of destruction.

Hawkman and the Atom jet to India, but their flight is attacked en route by locusts, and the pilot, another Carter Hall double, must crashland in India. Hawkgirl joins them there, and they are attacked by Brahma, god of light. The trio is overwhelmed by the faceless Nether-Man, and they are brought before Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu, god of restoration.

Shiva explains that eons ago the three gods ruled, until a cosmic upheaval sent them to another astral plane. Later, they found a warp to a limbo in which dwelt souls between life and death. The Nether-Men came back to Earth with them, seeking their former worshipers. When they could not find them, Shiva vowed to create chaos to prove his power and punish mankind, just at the time the Halls were in the country. The god used Carter's face as a model for the Nether-Men for use in infiltration and spying, and also hypnotized Vishnu while he stole Brahma's sight and sanity.

The captive Atom disappears, apparently destroyed; Hawkman and Hawkgirl attack. She blinds Shiva, but is in turn restrained by Vishnu, and the Nether-Men knock out Hawkman. Atom reappears and removes Brahma's blindfold; the god then returns the Nether-Men and his fellow gods to the nether- dimension. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman Vol. 2 TPB.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.