Welcome back subscribers. It’s Easter Sunday 2024 and what better time to share a flash memory of my comics collecting heyday.. hope you enjoy!
Happy Easter Satellite subscribers. I had no intention of writing this morning however while read my Twitter Pal Dave’s blog this morning I ran into a comic I have always had a particular fondness and memories of! As it is Easter Sunday as of this writing I’ll quickly share this story if for nothing else than to preserve my memory.
Part of growing up for me were weekly trips to the grocery store with my Dad! Thursday which must have been payday we’re guaranteed trips to the local Co-op or the new Sobeys store in Clarenville and always scored me an action figure or a comic, or two.. sometimes three!! I was lucky! Not only picking out great food like C3POs cereal (Spoiler.. it sucked) but I always got a “treat”.
I am in this pic! I could not find a picture of the Handy Andy store but I did find the Handy Andy dory used in the Clarenville Day festivities!!
I recall a weekend, it was particularly sunny so it was definitely summer. It seemed to be early in the day and my father needed to go to the local Hardware store called Handy Andy in my hometown of Clarenville, NL Canada. Andy’s was overlooking the water and on the corner of a turn at the beginning of Clarenvilles “Lower Road”. It was originally called Handy Andy Associate store and was located on Marine Drive in Clarenville Newfoundland my hometown! It sold camping and fishing gear, bikes, and automotive parts. I can still smell the bike tires!! It was filled with bikes, camping stuff, and seemingly endless Bike tires.. I cannot downplay that smell! It was here I got three of my favorite comics and my official introduction to Captain Carrot!
I LOVED this book!! Fun memories triggered here! I bought this at the afore mentioned Hardware store on a trip with my Dad at the age of 7! I had ONLY seen Captain Carrot in ads in comics and that DC insert up to that point, so I remember it was a huge deal!! They had a small wooden book shelf about mid store that housed a few car magazines, some decently sexist magazines of hot women, and in the middle of all that issues of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! They clearly didn’t rotate their magazine because there were three consecutive issues there that day and I begged my Dad to get them and of course he did!
This one sat around my house for eternity. My copy is respectfully battered and sitting in a box in my parents basement. I just felt the urge to preserve this memory!
Here are the other two that ended up leaving Handy Andy with me that day! Thanks Dad!
Well with that out of the way, go read my pal Dave’s blog post which triggered this memory in my mind! Enjoy! Tell him Hero sent ya!
Welcome Back, Satellite Subscribers! Where were you when Superman died? I was at a sports card kiosk haggling with a nearly criminal vendor to get Superman number 75 for an outrageous price as the world who had previously ignored comics as an art form were suddenly trying to grab a piece of the action. While the Man Of Steel would be killed in an elaborate storyline the story didn’t not end there, instead it became the catalyst for the introduction to Superman’s replacement!! This story isn’t just about a group of replacement heroes, in fact one of the four names we will come to meet just may be the Man of Steel himself!!! Confused? We were too back in the day…but for those living in a Space Satellite lets enlighten you!
BEGINNINGS..
Our voyage begins with the cosmic collision of two monumental DC Comics events: the Death of Superman storyline and its two punch aftermath—the Reign of the Supermen saga. These seismic events rocked the comic book universe, leaving fans both devastated and exhilarated. But why did Superman meet his untimely demise? What drove this hasty narrative choice? And how did it reshape the landscape of superhero storytelling?
Death of Superman: A World in Mourning
I sat reading The Death Of Superman series and could not get over the intense amount of sadness I felt as I read the pages in front of me. I had collected Superman off and on since 1980. Superman was a fixture on TV, the big screen, on T-shirts, lunch boxes he was everywhere. Superman simply represented growing up…and DC killed him off in the Death Of Superman storyline as a sure-fire way to stay competitive in a comics industry that was riding high on a bubble of sales and outside competition. DC had fallen behind Marvel and the new comer Image, and they needed to make the big shot, and that shot was killing the Man Of Steel! The success of the event was unprecedented. The Death of Superman became a cultural phenomenon. Fans flocked to comic shops, money in hand to witness the Man of Steel’s final battle. The event’s sales figures skyrocketed, revitalizing not only DC Comics but also another massive injection to an already flourishing industry. But the impact extended beyond Superman. Other heroes faced their own trials, and DC rebranded its titles under the “Triangle Numbers” banner, experimenting with storytelling formats, and it worked! It didn’t just sit with comic fans. However, the world took notice.
You could not escape it. It adorned newspapers, newscasts, magazine covers…the Death of Superman was mainstream news! The risk was worth the payoff!! For a minute, it seemed DC was BACK!! The problem was the DC big gun was dead…and now we had to figure out how to move on?
The Rise of Marvel and Image Comics
Marvel Comics and Image Comics were on the ascent. Marvel’s X-Men and Spider-Man titles dominated the market, while Image, founded by superstar artists like Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee, introduced creator-owned properties that resonated with readers. Spawn, WildC.A.T.S., and Youngblood were among the most successful books, pushing the boundaries of storytelling and art. The industry had not seen such sales heights. Artists were mainstream celebrities, and the names of Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld were known outside of the 24-page periodicals they created monthly. The Death of Superman was intended to break the cycle, and it worked…almost.Behind the scenes the team assigned to Superman’s death namely Jerry Ordway, Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, and Mike Carlin had just killed off Superman and now began the herculean task of assembling the historic follow up. No pressure, right? It would be a bigger undertaking than anyone ever dreamed.
The Genesis of Doomsday
The story doesn’t begin without the creation and demise of Superman’s Achille’s heel himself…Enter Doomsday, a monstrous force with no formal backstory or any semblance of a moral compass. This chiseled rock style monstrosity named Doomsday emerged from an underground chamber, a green-clothed fist smashing through the Earth’s crust. He would go on a mindless destructive rampage, crushing everything in his path, including birds and snapping deer necks. No one could stop him…..Enter our hero, Superman. The two would engage on a massive battle that stretched over multiple issues with both characters literally killing each other to end the devastation. You see, Superman would save us all from our own Doomsday. Symbolic, right!!? With this big event out of the way now, our creative teams had to tell the story of life without a Superman.. and it was epic! With Superman’s demise, DC explored alternate ideas. Unused stories and characters floated in the creative ether. The industry buzzed with speculation. Would Superman return? Could someone else take up the mantle? The industry held its breath, awaiting the next chapter. That answer would come in 4 separate answers. The decision-makers at DC faced a monumental choice: how to replace Superman. The result?
Four new replacement characters emerged—Steel, Cyborg Superman, Superboy, and The Eradicator. Each claimed to be the true Man of Steel, sparking debates and intrigue. The advertising campaign teased that maybe these were not new heroes but somehow could be the Man Of Steel himself!! For the next year, fans would be told the story from 4 different perspectives as DC maintained strong sales on the backs of 4 untested commodities. Who were these 4 new Supermen?
Let’s introduce them, shall we!
THE MAN OF STEEL RETURNS…TECHNICALLY.
As the story goes, John Henry Irons Createdby Louise Simonson and Jon BogdanoveFirst Appeared inAdventures of Superman #500. Steel was on the surface a modest steelworker named John Henry Irons. He bore witness to Superman’s death and committed himself to carry on his legacy of heroism. Steel was one of the most striking new heroes. Creators placed him a shiny silver high-tech suit of armor. He became Steel, wielding a mighty sledgehammer and a flashy red cape and Superman symbol on his chest. John Henry Irons was previously employed by a corrupt tech company called AmerTek, which developed destructive weapons that were being placed in the wrong hands. Seeing that he was in danger, John Henry Irons faked his own death and went into hiding as a common blue-collar Iron worker who, in secrecy, was a top-level weapons engineer. Upon seeing an opportunity to help out, John became STEEL, forging his very own classic steel super suit complete with a super hammer. Hammers are no longer the sole property of Marvels Thor! Thankfully, complete with cool look and super fun hammer, Steel was very popular, and sales of his own book were strong out of the gate. John Henry Irons’ blue-collar vibe resonated with readers, and as if he were born in 2024, Steel equaled true representation for people of color and symbolized resilience and determination. It was kind of perfect! I loved his design, hammer. It just worked!! His quest for justice gave the character an unlikely bond with Superman’s former girlfriend Lois Lane, which aided in his wars with gangs, his former company, and a host of Supe’s rogues gallery.
SUPERBOY RETURNS…SORT OF!
The Superboy introduced in Superman #500 (June 1993)is Kon-El, a modern update of the original Superboy. This new version was a creation of writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett, Here is the hook…this was not the old Superboy back in action, no this was…get ready for it. A teenage clone of both Superman and Lex Luthor!! Anyone who read comics back in the day knew one of the big buzz words was “Clone” Ask any Spiderman fan! Or…you know what? Please do not do that! Trauma is a nasty thing. This new Superboy’s debut marked a significant departure from the classic counterpart, who was essentially just a young Clark Kent operating as a superhero in Smallville while growing into his eventual role as the Man Of Steel. His arrival, however, was one of the major high points of The Reign Of Superman storyline, and he became a fast fan favorite! Kon-El, like the aforementioned Cyborg, emerged as one of the contenders vying for the mantle of Superman. His design is what made this character! He was clad in a distinctive costume. He sported Black boots trimmed in yellow! His legs were covered in red spandex and a classic blue bodice with a vintage Superman symbol! Stealing a page out of the Avengers 80s run, he wore a slick black leather jacket , red gloves, and cool shades! Kon-El was the 90s wrapped up in a bow, and he was cool!
The hero was aware of his clone roots, and that fact always kept him questioning his own identity! His relationship with Superman’s love Lois Lane, who saw the potential in this punky young teen contracted by his relationship with Lex Luthor, who obviously saw him as a super weapon! His own self reckoning between his birth as a clone or a hero was a fun ride and spin on the character despite me just wanting young Clark back. I enjoyed this character to its most as he sought to carry on Superman’s legacy but to stand on his own as no ones replacement! In our circle, we loved the new Superboy! How could we not! He WAS the 90s in a smaller package! He was a youthful, fresh, brash version of the Man Of Steel and just the fresh air that the Superman books sorely needed! Superman had become unrelatable in the 90s, and Kon-El was just the ticket! Superboy (Kon-El): A teenage clone with attitude, sporting a leather jacket and sunglasses. His rebellious spirit captured the zeitgeist of the ’90s.
DC GETS ITS OWN TERMINATOR…
If you lived in the 90s, you would have been a fan of the Terminator movie franchise! At the top of the Box Office, T2 would take theaters by storm, and Arnold Schwartzenegger was the biggest star in Hollywood. With this into consideration, it was no surprise that one of our Supermen would be a Cyborg..or a thinly veiled Terminator with less than honorable intentions! Intro the maniacal Cyborg Superman! Hank Henshaw, the man who would become Cyborg Superman, made his debut in Adventures of Superman #466(May 1990). Henshaw was an astronaut at NASA, Henshaw faced a solar flare disaster during a space shuttle experiment. The radiation exposure caused his body to mutate, leading to the tragic demise of his entire crew. Henshaw directly placed the blame on Superman for the accident, as you must understand despite the fact Henshaw’s consciousness did survive! He was transferred into Superman’s birthing matrix. It would be here that the sinister creation was born as he crafted a cybernetic body identical to Superman’s, becoming the DC equivalent to the Terminator, the Cyborg Superman. Cyborg Superman was created by the legendary Superman visionary Dan Jurgens, Cyborg Superman’s unique origin is a wonderful blend of tragedy, science fiction, and cosmic intrigue which was exactly what 90s fans of Superman desperately needed. Cyborg Superman would debut alongside two other of his compatriots in Adventures of Superman #466 (May 1990).
He conveniently appeared following the Death of Superman, claiming to be Superman himself! Crafting a wonderful lie of being brought back to life through the magic of Kryptonian science Henshaw was a wolf in sheep’s clothing as his intentions were not to save Metropolis and fill in the legacy of the Man of Steel but rather to destroy the legacy of the man who caused his near demise!! The mystery surrounding Cyborg was part of his charm. On the surface, this character was a good guy filling in the void left by Superman’s demise! Beneath the surface there were holes in Henshaw’s plan that led Supes’ wife Lois and Steel uncover Henshaw’s secret and then its war in Metropolis after that with Cyborg Superman becoming one of the most vicious villains during this period! He would find another adversary in the form of Green Lantern as well and even eventually served as a member of the Sinestro Corps!! Cyborg Superman would inevitably be the catalyst of the end of the Supermen storyline as he back the central bad guy. His descent into madness and his battle with Mongul in the overall narrative was a key win for the series of titles! For the Superman franchise overall, The Cyborg Superman sold books! He was one of the headline characters on many of the key books in the title moving forward up to and including the return of the man of steel!!
Total ERADICATION
Then came the Eradicator, a complex character from the Superman mythos. This particular character is actually considered an artifact rather than a human like being! The Eradicator made its debut in Action Comics Annual #2 (1989). Initially, it was an ancient Kryptonian artifact created by a dying alien racing to preserve their culture and ideals. Like any great idea, there are always those who use objects or weapons of great power for the purposes of evil, as was the story on Krypton. When a militaristic faction on Krypton corrupted the device, it became the “Eradicator.” This sentient, humanoid being took on the form of a super human figure in the vein of Superman himself and also possessed many of Superman’s powers, including strength, speed, invulnerability, heat vision, and flight. Its mission? To force Kryptonian culture upon Superman and Earth. Yup, the Eradicator was the political radicalized character of the 4 new characters introduced! However, over time, its interactions with Superman would turn it into a reluctant hero.
As it would be when The Eradicator appeared in the Reign of the Supermen storyline, many mistook him for the real article…just “OFF” in a manner of speaking! So following Superman’s apparent death at the hands of Doomsday, the Eradicator stepped in to fill the void. It became one of the four contenders vying for the mantle of Superman. Clad in a black bodysuit with a middle section of blue in the middle adorning the classic Superman iconic sigil the Eradicator looked like he meant business. Stylistically they separated him for the genuine article Superman by giving him a pair of wide view sunglasses and the classic flowing red Superman cape was now directly attached to the right and left top flanks of the Superman symbol. In summary, he looked completely 90’s badass!! The Eradicator was wielding immense power and began a campaign in Metropolis sought to maintain order in a ham-fisted manner devoid of bedside manner. Its struggle to balance its Kryptonian heritage with its newfound humanity added depth to the character. Originally, within my friend circle, we had big hopes for this character, and at least initially, his brutal mode of justice was just what the doctor ordered for the book. However…if you ask meThe Eradicator was a mixed bag. Some appreciated its complexity and hard-boiled edge the new man of steel had, but honestly, his backstory was a real challenge to follow. Over time, it evolved, taking on different forms and purposes. In the 2005–2006 aborted Superman film script, “Superman Lives,” the Eradicator played a significant role. Despite occasional ups and downs, this character remains an integral part of Superman’s legacy, embodying themes of identity, sacrifice, and redemption. The creative team behind the Eradicator includes writer Roger Stern, who brought this enigmatic figure. Stern’s vision allowed the Eradicator to grow from the Kryptonian artifact to a powerful, interesting being with conflicting motivations. Artists Jackson Guice and Brett Breeding brought this new Superman to life with their take on his contribution to its visual design. It was apparent that his look managed to showcase both its Kryptonian heritage and the superhero of the day.
The Resurrection: Superman Returns
But fear not dear subscribers! Superman’s return was inevitable. The cosmic energies of the Kryptonian Matrix resurrected him, and the world rejoiced. The creative teams behind this resurrection—names like Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, and Jerry Ordway—wove a tapestry of hope, legacy, and heroism. Their contributions echo through time, reminding us that even in the darkest hours, heroes endure.
Following a convoluted and overwrought story of Superman seeking escape from the afterlife DC went the long road around in concocting a storyline in which Supergirl who would actually be an Aline known as The Matrix transformed into Superman allowing him to be found alive amidst the wreckage mysteriously. The storyline following would be a slow burn as Superman reconciles his return and a return to his own life. DC did not hit the mark here, and the Return Of Superman storyline was not the sales success that The Death Of Superman and the launch of The Reign Of The Supermen was. DC pushed hard for LCS’s to buy up hard on his big return. However, event fatigue and multiple other market options had cooled the super books off.
If you live in 2024, the comic scene lives and dies on first appearances and new versions of classic characters. Modern Events like DC New 52, and Marvel’s too many to mention relaunches have lived and died on replacement character stories with recent versions of Spider-Man, The Punisher, Superman and many many others still cycling replacement characters in the mix in the name of driving the valuable sales and ticking off their respective fan bases. The theme has also become a very contentious and volatile issue that has effectively isolated factions of the fanbase, creating sales declines and divisions. However, at this moment in time, the Reign Of The Supermen was a financial success and still one of the most iconic storylines in Superman history. These 4 replacement heroes were one of the few examples of replacements being a good theme at the right place and the right time. What were your thoughts on these characters? Did you have a favorite? Who did you dislike the most? Let’s talk!!
End Transmission
Thank you, loyal Satellite Subscribers, for joining this cosmic expedition. Until next time, keep your antennas tuned, your capes fluttering, and your hearts soaring. Follow me on Twitter: @Charlton_Hero. Together, we’ll continue celebrating the Super-Blog Team-Up with more Replacement Hero Fun below!!
Greetings Super-Blog Team Up fans..the band is back with another tale to weave into the fabric of the blogosphere. This round we tackle “Versus”. If you are reading this years from now some context is needed. In this year of 2016 Super Hero films are still big bucks at the box office and both Marvel and DC are hanging their hats on two films where their main “Good Guy”characters square off one on one. Dc’s Batman V Superman debuted to mixed reviews but a very large draw and is still making big money as we speak. On may 6th Marvel takes their shot in the war with Captain America: Civil War which trumpets the big battle between Marvels head honcho Captain America and Iron Man! Both films promise a full-scale battle of Hero vs Hero.
Fortunately comic book history is filled to the brim with tale after tale of Earths mightiest heroes battling each other, even villains vs villains, not to mention Super Team vs Super Team! So many examples of epic battles with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Some battles have loved ones in danger and others where heroes secret identities hang in the balance. It brings us great pleasure here at The Superhero Satellite to bring you none of that! In fact this may be the shortest battle of Hero vs Hero in the history of comics. Without further adieu I present to you the moment when the Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader, The Bat, Batman took on the galaxies greatest protector, The GREEN LANTERN!! Okay…its Guy Gardner but he is a Lantern darn it! Anyways..on with the show..strap in and let’s get going to 1986..
Begin Transmission : May 4th 2016
DC had finished their massive crossover Crisis On Infinite Earths as detailed gloriously in past Super-Blog Team Ups and was looking to clean up many loose ends that resulted in its conclusion! Believe us there were a ton of them! The company decided after successful reboots of their core characters that they would pull all loose ends together into a bright red bow and make sense of all the individual titles by reforming their Super Team….The Justice League Of America! John Ostrander and Len Wein were the scribes in charge of reuniting DC’s heavy hitters under one banner. The story would be called Legends and it would take place over the course of 6 issues and multiple crossovers . It would be a jump on point for new readers and launched several new titles such as Flash, Suicide Squad and the brand new Justice League. In the story Darkseid wages a bet with Phantom Stranger that he will turn the world against earths Superheroes and uses a human political pawn as his catalyst. The end result sees DC’s finest come together to seemingly reform the Justice League and thwart Darkseid’s somewhat silly plot. Legends #6 boasts an all-star line up for the Justice League boasting Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Shazam, Black Canary, Guy Gardner, Dr. Fate , Changeling, Martian Manhunter and Blue Beetle! The band was back together and DC fans were excited for this league to continue on and protect this new DC Universe, Post Crisis. All was right with the world again…or was it?
Sadly this League would dissolve quicker than it came together. Superman declined the invite, Wonder Woman walked away quietly, Changeling went back to his gig with the Titans and Flash sped away disinterested in being bound to a team. It seemed the rug had been pulled out from fans who had suffered through some bad times in Justice League history with the ill-fated Justice League Detroit (which actually kicks some major ass and is a very fun read!) and With many JLA heavy hitters seemingly out of the mix for the next round of this new league, The new groups prospects of commercial success seemed significantly less. How can we have a JLA without the Trinity? (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) Well Writer/ Artist Keith Giffen along with J.M. Dematteis and Kevin Maguire would roll out the LEAST likely band of misfits the Justice League banner had ever seen.
So was born the Justice League International or the Bwah Ha Ha League as it is fondly recalled by the comics faithful. Giffen and DeMatteis would bring a very lighthearted comedic tone to proceedings.
The famous Justice League #1 from May 1987 sported one of the most copied covers in comics history with a family picture sort of cover sporting this new team with some very suspect looking participants. While the team boasted classic JLA heavyweights such as Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary it also assembled a far more unique crew than the JLA had ever seen. Many of which were imports from DC’s recent acquisitions from Charlton Comics, Fawcett, and the Kirby verse. The Blue Beetle, Mister Miracle, Oberon , Shazam and a brand new Version of Dr. Light rounded out this roster. One member however stole the cover with the now famous “Wanna make somethin of it??” Guy Gardner, a relatively lesser known member of the illustrious and complicated Green Lantern Corp filled out the roster. It was apparent that Gardner was bringing the “Attitude” to its ranks. One look at Batman’s face knows this team is already in trouble.
For those not familiar with the Justice Leagues newest Green Lantern would quickly grow to love the renegade Lantern. He originally debut in Green Lantern Vol. 2 Issue 59and from the get go we know that this Green Lantern didn’t play by the rules. In this issue The Guardians give Green Lantern Hal Jordan a lesson in humility by showing him what would have been if Guy Gardner had been selected by Abin Sur to wear the famous Green Power Ring rather than him. We can all be thankful it turned out the way it did. During his travels Gardner would be passed over many times to lead the Lanterns in favor of Hal Jordan and John Stewart but always held to his guns that HE was the one destined to lead the team…alas at the time this did not come to pass however it would be a core reason why he was tormented by being subservient to another leader.
Guy went headlong into battles with DCs greatest rogues gallery would find himself in a bad situation in DC’s fabled Phantom Zone where he would be beaten into oblivion and permanently injured. A victim of brain damage, Guy as a result was a moody , self indulged prick who commanded the leadership of the JLI. Gardner however was not taken seriously by his new team mates. This certainly wasnt the Green Lantern Corp. anymore!! Joining a new group would be a little “problematic” for Guy as we will see..
We all know the story of the Batman. Avenging his parents death, Bruce Wayne goes on a mission to rid the world of evil doers. Along the way he gains multiple sidekicks with Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Superman and many others. For all intents and purposes..Bruce Wayne was never good with relationships and no matter if it was with a partner, a love interest, or a Super Team, Batman’s relationships always turned out badly. Batman would be part of The Batman Family, The Justice League Of America and even The Outsiders…all of which were dysfunctional relationships to say the least.
Batman as well was never one for playing second fiddle to anyone and usually assumed the leadership role as would be the case with the latest incarnation of the Justice league International. After the downfall of Justice League Detroit former Leader, Martian Manhunter was reluctant to put the lives of another team in his hands as he felt squarely responsible for their demise. Batman took the reins while the group was in their bonding period. However…unlike anyone he ever teamed with, Guy Gardner was NOT a team player and it was up to Batman to put him in line. It was the battle of wills..The mysterious Batman VERSUS an ultra powerful ring wielder who has the power of the universe at his hands…only one would prevail in a Game of Thrones.
From the opening page of Justice League #1 Vol. 2 1988, Gardner was already front and center and plotting to do a grand take over of the leadership position of the mighty newly reformed Justice League. Tensions would fly at their first ever meeting as a group..and Gardner and Batman would get their first taste of each other..it was NOT love at first sight!
In fact Gardner’s overtures towards the leadership position would not only be rejected but it would lead to an all out breakdown of the team only in their first organized group meeting. Batman could see right away that despite his reluctance to once again lead a super team…this boat needed a captain..and FAST!
With Gardner upstaged in front of the team, it would not only intensify the fire between Bats and Guy. It was just the start in a series of confrontations..as Batman attempted to instill a sense of protocol to proceedings Guy would be there to challenge his every word..
Guys temper would make for some tense moments in the team’s business. Gardner had no respect for Manhunter’s word despite Jonzz being a longstanding leader of the original Justice League Of America. Guy also would have none of The Big Red Chesse’s (Shazam) words either, but when it came to Batman, Gardner would dare not step any further.
Batman would literally become Guys babysitter. At every outburst or irrational thought, Bats was there to shut Guys outbursts down and amazingly there was zero retaliation..
Despite Guys reluctance to fight Batman, he would antagonize The Dark Knight at every opportunity. Both parties were now in the advanced stage of their passionate dislike for each other. Gardner took every shot he could whether on the battle field or in front of their peers. Serious group debriefings were fertile ground for Guys barbs….as Batman continued to make mental note of his detractors poor attempts to get under his skin.
Batman continued to hold the Lantern at bay, but when the League had their back against the wall, Gardner challenged Batman’s leadership for the last time. The defiance, the outbursts, the smart remarks and the tantrums would come to a head. Gardner would build up the courage to put the money where his mouth was as once and for all, Guy Gardner challenged Batman for the coveted Leadership position of DC’s high-profile flagship super group.
All the pent-up frustration..all the years of being held back by his peers in the Green Lantern Corps and now again in the Justice League. Gardner even removed his power ring and with no more fear in his heart, Guy Gardner BIT!!
Guy Gardner handed his ring to Blue Beetle and rushed furiously towards Batman and FINALLY these two rivals would square off one on one, head to head in a battle to end all battles this war was finally settled…
With ONE Punch…
What? Were you expecting something different? A bigger battle? A drawn out brawl over the course of six issues? Nope not here…sometimes less is more. Masterpieces are not created in one stroke of the brush…this rivalry was the exception. Batman would go on to leave the League a short time afterwards but Guy would still not achieve the top spot. Batman would go on to lead again and even Guy many years later, would finally get his respect as a Leader in the Green Lantern Corps...but that my friends is another story for another day. If you are hungry for a fight the battles continue with our group of Fellow Super Bloggers…read more below!!
Today I have gathered the Satellite crew in the main cabin for what I like to call..reading time. Yes, a foreign concept in this technical world of cell phones and computers. Gather round the virtual library and marvel at some classics that may have passed by a whole generation of kids..Yes today is Scholastic Day at The Satellite!!
Begin Transmission: April 1 2016
I was a fan of school..although the younger me would dispute this many mornings struggling to get up out of bed. Overall if I look back I would not trade one day of the public school system. In our home town there were none of today’s craziness with guns and drugs and bullying..we came to school…hung out with our friends and at time at the most an odd fight would break out but would be settled in the court of the playground. Yes my fellow school goers were generally a civilized bunch and it was always good times. One very memorable thing that I looked forward to every month was a little 4-6 page pamphlet that teachers would hand out so you could order books and have them delivered to your school. The Scholastic Book Orderwas the Sears Wish Book of Public School!
Scholastic was an American based publishing company that offered discounted literature to school districts all over Canada and The United States.They distributed order forms to schools for kids and parents to browse and order books through their services. Scholastic did a great job marketing their titles to kids as they had access to all the latest trends, movies or show publications and would feature them prominently in their pages of their flyer. The flyers were usually 4-6 pages in length and each page would feature plenty of books and items for order. The front Splash page usually featured the most current popular books and deals while the inside of the flyers would offer a variety of offerings from various authors. Of course Scholastic was careful to have multiple circulars for all different age groups so that offerings to elementary school children would not be the same as the offerings to Teens in Jr. High.There were literally hundreds of books from time to time and the prices were never at gouging level..and they also had great savings on bundle packages where you could get a full series of books for one low price.
I ALWAYS looked forward to these book orders. Once you made up your mind on what books you wanted or could afford, you filled out a long rectangular order slip in the last page of the flyer and noted the items you wanted. You then bugged your parents to fork over the cash and depending on what they donated to the cause decided your literary fate for that month. I feel I always fared decently well..Now where to start??
I fondly remember some of my classic hauls. Early on in our elementary days I loved kids magazines such as Dynamite and Bananas. Both were variety magazines which usually had celebrities from the favorite TV shows of the day and an interesting interview or story about them on the inside.
Dynamite was the better of the two as it had a more serious approach and featured the things I loved as a kid like Star Wars, Different Strokes, The A-Team and Knight Rider to name a few. It also featured plenty of puzzles, quizzes and cartoons to keep you reading!
Before the internet I got my movie and TV news through Dynamite!! Bananas was a comedic almost Mad Magazine style of publication which looked and felt a lot like Dynamite in terms of content and layout but went more for laughs than telling news stories or interviews.Both were great launching points into reading.
As my interests changed so did my literary intake. Fun puzzle books and gimmicks were always a staple in the order forms.We didnt have the large selection of media offerings with CDs and video games like kids of today..nope..we had to write our own fun with great stuff like Mad Libs!
As a long-standing comics fan Scholastic offered higher brow reads so instantly I was drawn to my version of high education..Garfield!!The classic strip bound in a soft cover format were always a favorite of mine and one of my first ever grabs as a kid!! Yep I was introduced to everyone’s favorite Lasagna eating, ideological Cat on the ground level with this classic!! This was MY kind of literature!! Others in my class had advanced deep into The Hardy Boys , Nancy Drew and The Bobbsey Twinsbooks so this Hero was being left behind at the bottom of the literary food chain..that had to change..I couldn’t be ordering kids stuff when the rest of the class was ordering the equivalent to Shakespeare.
I traded in kids magazines and comic strip books like Garfield, andMad Libs for novels.I will admit some of my need to dip into the adult side of the pool was because of my love of cover art. I fondly remember buying the Lloyd Alexander Collection. The artwork was very fantasy like and it drew me in like a tractor beam. I will admit to merely skimming the adventures of young Taran but I had to have that art.If not for the fine folks at Scholastic I would never have dared take a chance on such an author!
So I would quickly realize that literary classics like a Wrinkle In Time and Oliver Twistwould not be for me..nope..I loved movie adaptations! So while others read higher brow selections I grabbed such classic as The Karate Kid!! It was perfect for me..it was short, easy to read and had a color photo section from the movie!!
Of course Science Fiction was always my “go to drug” so when I gazed upon Star Trek 3 The Search For Spock in the book order, I knew I couldnt wait! I could finally find out what happened to Spock after Wrath Of Khan! Our town didn’t yet have a movie theater so this book was one of the few ways of knowing the “Spoilers” that would happen in the movie!! Yes it was still the era of the VHS tape and I would have to wait sometimes over a year before our video stores would have this movie so I put the “X” in the box next to that novel on my book order and loved it when it came! It had a foil embossed logo and all! Nerd Heaven when it wasnt cool!!
As cool as Star Trek was my first passion was always Star Wars and Scholastic super served our kind with their variety of Star Wars fun!! I grabbed my Return Of The Jedinovel with awesome hand and light saber cover!! Guess what..didnt read a page! I devoured the 8 pages of color photos inside scrutinizing every last detail! As with Star Trek it would be a long time before I watched the film on VHS!
There was the holy trinity of Star Wars books :The Jedi Masters Quiz Book! Not for the casual fan. This book was written by a kid named Rusty Miller and was insanely detailed and the 425 questions would challenge George Lucas himself!! I fact I am certain that old George would not correctly answer some of these questions!!
I opted not to read much of the Return Of The Jedi Novelbecause truth be told, Scholastic had THIS Bad boy…The Return Of The Jedi Storybook!!The fully illustrated photo story book with a ton of photos from the film and plenty of narrative that made you feel like you were getting the whole story!! Years later I would get this same book in a hole in the wall book store in Buffalo New York with a hard cover!!
Occasionally if you order a promotional set of titles or spent a certain dollar amount Scholastic would reward that lucky kid with an awesome free poster!!They usually had some pretty cool giveaways. Luckily it was not always a cute cat poster..from time to time you would get awesome posters like this!! Always an incentive to spend more!!
Over the years I amassed a very large book collection but there was one book that always stuck with me that may be my favorite book of all the selections I ever ordered…yes the Coup De Gras is THE GREAT SUPERMAN MOVIE BOOK!! This book was visually striking and loaded with pics and info all about one of my favorite superheroes of the day!! It had a giant Superman poster inside, and talked all about the Superman films and behind the scenes of them. This was the Internet before the Internet was the Internet..Just go to Amazon and get this one..tell em Hero sent ya. Anyone out there have this one? Share your thoughts below!!
So to the fine folks at Scholastic, a big thank you from this adult who grew up reading because you offered it! Tons of great Scholastic memories still stay with me! The anticipation of order day arriving and getting that wonderful stack of books is just a great visual etched in my brain. So as we close the Satellite Virtual Library we want to hear from YOU our valued readers! What did you get in your Scholastic Orders? We want to know.
Till Next time heroes…Class time is over. Now back to your stations!!
In 1984 the Superman movie franchise was in full force. Superman 3 was released the previous year (June 1983) with yet another series about to debut in the Superman franchise..this time it was all about Supergirl. With the brand new 2015 Supergirl television series in production with CBS its worth a trip back to Supergirl’s first and only cinematic debut.
Satellite upload archive..generate Supergirl 1984 Motion Picture and broadcast it on the video screens in the briefing chambers of the Satellite. Our team of Heroes today need to experience the magic of the forgotten Superman Family franchise blacksheep…Supergirl.
Begin Transmission:
We live in the era of the Superhero movie here in the good old 2000’s. In the 70s and 80s there were various attempts at the Superhero genre on TV and silver screen. One movie series that broke the mold was the 1970s Superman: The Movie and its subsequent sequels. In an attempt to wring every drop from the lemon Warner studios was determined to make a spinoff series…one based on another member of Superman’s heralded comic book family…Supergirl! The DC Comics Supergirl motion picture was released in 1984 and directed by Jeannot Szwarc but still under the umbrella of the Salkinds who created the original 3 highly successful Superman movies! The franchise despite somewhat negative reviews to Superman three was a cash cow at the box office and surly Supergirl was going to be the next sure-fire hit! Right? Well it didn’t really work out that was. Actress Helen Slater played Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl of the doomed planet of Argo City. Slater not only looked the part but was actually very good in her role as Superman’s long-lost cousin. The film also boasted an all-star roster at the time with Faye Dunaway (Mommie Dearest, China Town) playing Supergirl’s nemesis Selena as well as screen and stage actor Peter O’Toole (Lawrence Of Arabia) as Zaltar.Christopher Reeves (Who played Superman in the previous three films in the Salkind series if you didn’t know.) was set to make a cameo in the movie and is even addressed during the course of the film but backed out due to personal commitments. Even though Reeves was not able to make it the Salkind’s merged the Supergirl universe with the three previous Superman films by borrowing actor Marc McClure to reprise his role he made famous in the original Superman trilogy..Jimmy Olsen!
The film is notable for its very basic and silly plot that revolves around the story of Kara (Supergirl )who comes to earth in search of a very powerful cosmic tool known as the Omegahedron. This powerful device was her homes central source of power and in order to save her home world of Argo City. Kara must retrieve this device! As fate would have it the weapon is seized by the evil witch known as Selena (Dunaway) who uses the power of the Omegahedron to cast powerful spells on the weak-minded citizens of Earth. Meanwhile on her search for the powerful device Kara adopts the name Linda Lee and tries to cover her true alien nature by living amongst the humans undercover while looking for the all-powerful Omegahedron. She is accepted into an all girls school and even meets another member of the Superman’s family Lois Lanes younger sister..Lucy Lane! The plot thickens..if you will..when Kara falls in love with school groundskeeper Ethan..who is also begin seduced magically by Selena herself…thus begins a cosmic episode of Threes Company as both woman are caught in a love triangle. As Selena puts Kara into the Phantom zone to rid the Earth of Supergirl her plot backfires as Supergirls reverses the fight and is freed (By O’Toole character Zaltar) from her eternal purgatory of the Phantom Zone, regains her powers and stops Selena once and for all. With the Omegahedron, Kara bids goodbye to Ethan the love of her life and returns to Argo apparently just in time as the city comes back to life and order is restored!
Now..you may ask..was this movie any good? Well lets chat about that. In the 80s I did not get the opportunity to see Supergirl in theater. Instead I rented it much later on its original VHS release on my handy-dandy top loading RCA Video Cassette Recorder. One of the local furniture store rented the VCR as well as three walls of VHS tapes. Two walls were VHS..one wall was for Beta releases. Beta was for those who do not know, a videocassette movie that was superior in quality but became one of those new techno gimmicks that didn’t capture an audience in the face of the cheaper more economical VHS/VCR combos! I digress..I had a VHS Player (VCR) and I had Supergirl to screen on my 27 inch color TV of which the brand escapes me.
I remember being underwhelmed at the time. Supergirl was more a love story than an all out action film like Superman 2! I found myself annoyed by Peter O’Toole, Zaltar. O’Toole looks bored and even homeless at times and this character simply sucks. as well as the love interest Ethan. Both characters fail on the screen and even Lawrence Of Arabia himself cannot save his part of the film. Some parts however are pure gold. Slater herself is charming and effective as Supergirl. As Reeves became the likeness of Superman that we all relate to..I firmly believed that Slater was able to do the same thing with Supergirl. Innocent and effective Slater looked believable in not only as the costumed hero but as the likable Linda Lane. As for Faye Dunaway , she was bashed for her acting in the film even receiving an official Raspberry nomination for her work as Selena. Through the lens of a child in the 80s Selena was effective and believable for a campy 80s movie villain. She owned the screen when she was on it but delivered her unfortunately scripted lines in the most effective way possible. Goes to prove you cannot out act a bad script. Dont trust my opinion..check out this great review by Youtuber Oliver Harper.
Would I recommend this movie? Of course I would..its part of the original attempts to bring Superheros to the big screen and it was a good shot at making it work. The special effects, particularly the flight scenes, which are crude by today,s standards, held up. As for the rest it is certainly comparable to the Superman franchise special. Supergirl is just bubblegum fun and if you have 5 bucks..go find it in a discount bin at a store that sells Blu-Ray or DVD. With that said…
“Computer are you able to scour the internet for a copy of the film?”
Computer: “Search Complete sir, displaying film now..
While it’s not a VCR…Veho is just as good. Grab some Popcorn and some Soda and enjoy The Supergirl movie..maybe just maybe there’s an old hole in the wall store that rents VHS tapes that may have a copy of this movie to enjoy exactly as I did..if you find one..tell em Hero sent ya..they will know what you mean!
Hey there Satellite Subscribers, its Charlton Hero on the deck of the Super-Hero Satellite transmitting from deep space. All the crew have been sent home for the holidays so its just you and I and what better time of the year than to celebrate our second official Holiday Special. In the event you missed our first Holiday Special..take a minute and soak up the music that simply means Christmas to me personally…https://charltonhero.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/the-1st-annual-superhero-satellite-christmas-special/
All done? Alright..This year..I thought no better way to celebrate than with Sears Wish Book Christmas Catalog Toy ads!. These were my absolute favorite toy pages as a kid and I can’t wait for you to see them..nestle in Heroes..pour yourself a glass of Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate..settle in around the holo-fireplace in the archive room of the mighty Super-Hero Satellite and enjoy.
Transmission Begin: Dec 25. 2014
If you lived in my hometown there was one thing that every kid in town anxiously awaited..The arrival of the Sears Wish Book. A compendium of the best X-Mas presents and THE BEST toys that you could only get in the pages of this golden tome! My hometown did not offer a ton of choices in regards to shopping. We had the local Woolco, Dalfens, or The Chain Store (Actual Name..although not so sure it was actually a Chain Store..) Keep in mind in, the years from 1980-1989 we did not have the luxury of online shopping or large shopping malls in our area. There was no formal internet..it was truly the dark ages when you look where we are today..but we didn’t care!We had the friggin Wish Book!! The book usually landed on your doorstep or in the mail in late October which gave you plenty of time to dig through the pages and order what you wanted before the big day December 25th!!! It was a tradition to break out the pen and circle the gifts you “wished” you had under the tree that year!! For my own personal memories and maybe my kids if they read this years from now..here are a few pages of the joys I looked at in awe in the days before every Christmas!!
You have to know my first stop in the Wish Book was the Star Wars section..on the page above is my favorite toy of all time..The Death Star..yup I had that Bad Boy..and it retailed for only 19.99 back in the day!! A steal for all involved!! Now check out the bottom of the page and check out the classic Star Wars Play Doh set complete with Play Doh Style X-Wing!! You had molds to create Play Doh versions of your favorite Star Wars characters!! Loved making a great Green PlayDoh Luke!! Thats right!!
This was my era..I pulled off the Millennium Falcon (I broke the bay door assembling it myself..ugghh)..I had the Ice Planet Hoth Playset pictured above complete with collapsible Ice cave and rebel bunker!! The Hoth versions of the characters were also amazing. Plus, you were not cool unless you had the Bounty Hunters! I was never a fan of those Star Wars Micro Toys though!!
My second love was GI Joe!! Especially the originals!! Hawk, Grunt, Flash, Bazooka, Stalker, Scarlett, Rock and Roll, Breaker, Clutch, Zap and of course..Snake Eyes!! I had the V.A.M.P. Jeep..The Missile Launcher, Motor Cycle with side gun!! The Cobra Command Headquarters was a miss for me though. Even though it was a simple cardboard diorama..it had the elusive silver mask Cobra Commander and two Cobra scrubs!! There was no cooler figure than Cobra Commander!! On closer inspection on the opposite page you have Haunted House toys which I loved as well!! I had the Creature, and The Wolfman! On a trip to a Florida Toys are Us I also grabbed the Lone Ranger, Tonto and Their horses!! Always wanted the Lone Ranger Playset on the back of all those comic ads. Any reader ever have that particular set? At the bottom of the second page the Christmas debut of the legendary He-Man and The Masters Of the Universe Collection!! Check out that WindRaider in the corner!! Had every piece of that collection except Man At Arms!! Why do Toyline’s not feature as much awesome stuff these days?? What ever happened to the lost art of the Playset? Back in my day there was a Playset for everything!! Now some sets barely contain the action figures!!
Mego…Nuff said. I loved my Mego Spider-Man Spider Car with Spider Net! How about the BEST Bat Mobile Toy ever invented!! These have been long missing from my collection as they went to the dump many years ago after many years of play and battle damage but there was nothing cooler than playing with my Dynamic Duo and Wall Crawler action figures!! I do not recommend popping the wheels off these cars over and over again as the only thing you get is the heart break of the chassis pin breaking and your toy rendered useless! Ugghh. These were Amazing though!! Oh had Superman too!! Loved that Fonz toy but only managed a Ritchie Cunningham figure!! Never had the Planet Of The Apes Megos..which boasted the best often heralded amazing Planet Of The Apes Ape Command Tree House Playset!! This one was recently featured on Season 3 of AMCs Comic Book Men. No, I am not forgetting that wicked Star Trek set..never had that bad-boy..I would kill for a Captain Kirk /William Shatner Mego!! I am taking donations people!!
Next is a cautionary tale of Christmas past. NEVER..and I mean NEVER trade or sell one of your old Christmas toys..you WILL one day live in the waters of regret! My story occurred during an ill advised toy trade with a friend (That’s YOU John Stacey!) I lost one of my all time favorite Toys, The Star wars Rancor. I sold out my beast for a pile of vintage G.I. Joe’s..in mint condition. I think I still got the better deal but cant help but miss my Rancor!! The Jabba The Hut Playset was gifted to me at the height of the Return Of The Jedi hysteria and remains in my sons collection to this day!! One of the lost gems and the real center piece to this page was the very cool M.A.S.K. collection!! I had the Boulder Hill Playset, Transport Truck (The Rhino) and flying Sports car (The Thunder Hawk)!! For those of you not familiar with M.A.S.K. it was one of the most unique toy lines out there with a group of Super Agents equipped with transformable vehicles that they used to battle the evil terrorist regime V.E.N.O.M.!! Sound familiar? If it sounds too close to G.I. Joe… it was!! That’s why it ruled!! The M.A.S.K. collection were more or less a micro version of the Joe’s but the Vehicles and TV show left you thinking these may be the best Toys of all time..almost.
Boba Fetts Slave-1 was the boss of Star Wars vehicles and came complete with Frozen Han and is probably one of my favorite Star Wars toys ever made..that is until you factor in the AT-AT! I had both of these toys and I will tell you these are the standard by which all toys are to be judged!! These days if You see a vintage AT-AT Walker in a kids room and you know he has great friggin taste in toys!! One dark horse on the second page was The Duke Boys and Car Set!! Love my Dukes!! The TV series The Dukes of Hazard was a family favorite and having a wicked Bo and Luke set of figures complete with The General Lee was amazing!! The Toy line itself was very cool and I miss this set badly. The figures didnt much look like the Dukes outside of their clothes and broke pretty quickly but my time with the Dukes was a great time Yeeee Haaaa!!
Before The Game Boy or The 3DS there were Coleco Table Top Video Games!!If There were ever a cooler game system at the time..I dont know what it was! The Coleco Table Top games featured crude LCD graphics and were like having an arcade in your living room!! I had Galaxian (Which broke sadly..but was replaced with..) Frogger! I had Donkey Kong as well. Kong was the best of the bunch and was responsible for hours of gaming fun that Christmas..The sad reality was these things ate batteries like nobodies business!! You HAD to use the (Sold Separately) adapter or you had to mortgage your house to play these things!! They were also great due to the waaayyy cool side cabinet stickers and graphics these things still stand out in any retro collection!! Thanks Sears!!
I cannot go out without giving a shout out to my personal favorites the Go-Bots!! Got only three items on this page from actual X-Mas gifts and those being the very cool Super Go-Bot versions of Cy-Kill and Leader-1!! They were huge..simple and great!! The other was the shameful “Go-Bots Rogun Cap Rifle” I am pretty certain this was not official Go-Bots merchandise but Sears claimed it was so I received it one fateful December 25th!! I did however own three other huge pieces of Go-Bot lore..The Go-Bots Command Center (Won in a Trade…thanks Leslie Card!!!), The Renegade Thruster (Christmas Gift!!) and the fantastic Go-Bots Power Warrior set!!! (Got this on a trip to NY City baby!!!)
Countless big name franchises were just mentioned..Star Wars, GI Joe, Marvel, DC but the DarkHorse franchise was SECTAURS!! Warriors of The Symbion!! If you didnt have these figures you really missed a unique Toyline that passed by many people..but old Charlton Hero here is gonna tell ya that these figures absolutely kicked ass!! A toy based on a race of inset /human hybrids who rode massive insects and battled in the World of Symbion!! The figures themselves were a little taller than the Masters Of The Universe figures of their day but were more articulated. They had a flashy faux metal design for Armor and their “Vehicles” were large very detailed insects with real fur that you fit on your hand like a glove. The trick was that your fingers acted as their legs to add another level of creep factor to the beasts!! Prince Dargon was always my favorite but my X-Mas gift collection one great year consisted of Skulk and Trancula, Pinsor and Battle Beetle, Zak, Mantor, Skito and Commander Waxpax, the latter Four figures came with mini insects that feature a button activated feature that was unique to its owner! Then of course there was the elusive Hyve..a Battle set of Battle sets!! Sadly I never had this masterpiece in my collection. A real showcase gem of any figure collection are these toys!
Although the Wish Book still exists to this day I still get that little trickle of excitement that my kids may never truly get when it arrives at our house. If you ever were a kid of the 70s and 80s you knew what you had and appreciated this wonderful part of X-Mas! many Christmas memories were generated by these rich pages and a big part of my childhood was from the fine folks at Sears. If you worked at Sears or had anything to do with the creation of this book this guys says thanks for the memories!
So..as it is ..it is Christmas day and I urge you all to go spend time with family and friends and thank all my readers for simply coming to visit this humble little blog on ocassion. It truly means a lot that I can write this little snapshot for myself and family for years to come. Ill dim the lights in the Satellite and beam you all back home. Be good to each other and goodnight, To my friends at the Super-Blog Team Up a huge thank you for entertaining this Blogger and hang with the Heavyweights for a while. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays..or what ever it is you celebrate and see you again in 2015!
Welcome back Heroes. Today we are gathered in the Satellite briefing room for information regarding our next mission into days gone by. One of the small joys of being a kid in the 80s for me was getting to spend as much time as I wanted at a comic book spinner rack! I would love walking to the store with my hefty 20 dollar allowance and blowing every cent on a fat bag of comics, which, in my buying prime, were 65-75 cents each!! So I came out with everything I wanted. I hit Pharmacies, Drug Stores, Grocery Stores and the occasional comic book store / Kiosk in my hunt of comic book treasures! One thing that always heightened that experience were Team – Up Issues! Marvel Team Up and Marvel 2 in 1 saw Spider-Man and The Thing team up with almost every famous Marvel hero at the time. The thrill of seeing Spider-Man team with Captain Britain, Or The Thing and The Hulk were a fan boys wet dream!!I was a DC guy mainly in the 80s so while Spider Man and The Thing were teaming with Marvels best I was loving DCs versions of Team Ups. Batman and SuperMan were the Worlds Finest. DC marched their two biggest heavy hitters to team up with every major DC character in two classic titles created to explore the team dynamic!! DC Comics Presents featured Superman teamed with everyone but the kitchen sink. Brave and the Bold Teamed Bat-Man with everyone you could name INCLUDING the kitchen sink. DC reached for everyone you could think of from a team up such as A-Listers like Green Lantern to Z-Listers like Ambush Bug. Just when you thought there was no one else for The Man Of Steel To Team-Up with then came…THIS!!
Begin Transmission: Aug.11.2014
That’s right…Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew. First some context is needed here. The era was the 1980s, DC had yet to streamline its massive continuity with its Crisis Event hence there was still room for `Funny Animal characters in its history..such as Captain Carrot and The Zoo Crew. Funny Animal comic books and newspaper strips had pretty much been a staple of the 50s and 60s but only small traces of those days in comics history still lingered in the comics medium of the early 1980s. Saturday Morning cartoons had retained a certain element of the talking funny animals on TV. Scooby Doo was a runaway hit, There were the Muppets, there was Mighty Mouse, and there were Disney’s Mickey and Friends.Harvey Comics still in its final days of publishing continued on the trend of funny animals books. DC not being one to buck a trend followed suit with what would be their final attempt at a Funny Animal book. Even the term “Funny Animal Book” carried a negative connotation even in the free for all early 80s. One of Comicdoms Godfathers, Roy Thomas along with Scott Shaw created The Captain and His Zoo Crew and Unleashed them onto the world in a special 16 page insert preview (Or Prevue as DC coined it!) inside the pages of the very popular Team Book New Teen Titans #16 in Feb. of 1982!
DC was experimenting with new titles at the time and were introducing new characters and concepts in various titles with 16 page previews wedged in the middle of their more high-profile books to provide maximum visibility to new properties! Such classic titles like Dial H For Hero, Arak Son Of Thunder, Night Force, Atari Force, Masters Of The Universe, Mask, Blue Devil, Amethyst, Flash Force 2000?? (Huh?), and Bat-Man and The Outsiders. (Damnit..thats when comics were comics..sigh..) Of course the most unusual title in the mix was Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew!
I choose to talk about Captain Carrot because this book was an absolute favorite of mine. I loved parody comics. I frequently bought magazines like MAD Magazine and Cracked and loved that style of humor..just the style Cap and his Gang were projecting! There was a local Hardware store in my hometown called Handy Andy’s that carried comics on its magazine rack and didn’t update them frequently or rotate them so it was quite common for several issues of a title would stay on the shelf en mass. Their lack of rotation landed me Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #5-#8. I was hooked! I loved DC Comics Team Books so titles Like Legion Of SuperHeroes and of course The Justice League Of America of which Captain Carrot and his crew were inspired by! On to the team and their inspirations..Captain Carrot was “Inspired” by SuperMan,Pig-Iron by Frankenstein,and The Thing, Yankee Poodle was a combination of Captain America and Wonder Woman. Rubber Duck was clearly Plastic Man. Alley Kat Abra was Zatanna, and FastBack was The Flash. The Zoo Crew Were an anthropomorphic JLA!! (Yes for the Zoo Crew aficionados there were another group of JLA Animal Heroes in the Captain Carrot Universe called Justa Lotta Animals…J.L.A…get it? More on them later!)
As discussed, the concept behind the DC Prevue inserts was to introduce the characters to a captive audience on popular books. No bigger book in that day than New Teen Titans. DC went the extra mile with The Zoo Crew however by pairing them directly with The Man Of Steel. Yes the first appearance of Captain Carrot and his Zoo Crew were in a Team Up Story!! How and why did such an event happen? Well..I am glad you asked..synopsis time!
Metropolis was experiencing an epidemic where citizens were acting like primates for no apparent reason. Superman deduced that it was the planet Pluto of which was emitting energy rays causing said effect on the people of earth. Upon investigating the incident Superman is transported to an alternate earth know as Earth-C!! (After Crisis it is determined that Earth -C is not a part of the Multiverse but rather a Alternate Dimension! Great backdoor DC!) Superman encountered a number of Animal inhabitants who as a result of being struck by radiated fragmented meteor! The creation of these beings were all as a result of Superman’s efforts..so in actuality it is Superman himself that is responsible for the genesis of The Cap and his entire altered animal world! After dispatching some low-level Animal criminals Superman teams with Rodney Roger Rabbit..(Copyright Check!!) aka Captain Carrot! Hell don’t let me tell ya all about it..Satellite..bring up Comic Archive..GENERATE. Now Heroes ..Enjoy!
The result of this initial team up was almost a two year run for a “Funny Animal” book and in March 1982 Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew #1 hit the stands! It was an instant hit with my circle of fans! The very end of the prevue DC introduced the Zoo Crew as all over the world Animals were being infected with super powers as a result of this mysterious Meteorite fragments! The Superman team -Up continued into the very first issue of Cap and The Zoo Crew! Superman and the team discover the sinister mastermind behind all these strange occurrences…JLA heavy..STARRO!! Starro for those who have no idea what I am talking about was a giant galactically intelligent Star Fish hell bent on de-evolutionizing the human race! Of course the first villain of the zoo crew would be DCs Galactic Star Fish! Very appropriate! The team fought valiantly to defeat Starro but it wasnt until the team came together as a fighting unit!
After dispatching the giant fish Superman and the Zoo Crew thanked each other and the Man of Steel returned to his own dimension and the Zoo Crew became the official protectors of Earth – C! DC had the most unusual Super Team in the world with the Zoo Crew and I was hooked. I regret not getting every issue in the series but my unreliable comic shops did not carry every title so Carrot was one that didnt get great representation on the shelves! The issues I did have left a mark on me and I can proudly remember buying each issue! This could easily be the next great DC Cartoon series!! You listening DC…Zoo Crew in 2015..Get On it!!
In summary DCès attempt to use the Man Of Steel as a pole vault technique to launch a new series in the 80s was a recipe for success. Carrot lasted 20 issues and even returned for another mini series (The 3 issue Oz – Wonderland War!) shortly after cancellation.The Mini series alas was not my favorite Captain Carrot Story and I cannot in good faith recommend it to Satellite Readers. The Story centers on a villain called The Nome King who enslaves the world of OZ. It is up to the Zoo Crew to assist the storied land. Not satisfied with his conquest of OZ The Nome King then attempts to overthrow Wonderland..what ensues is an all out classic fairy tale cross over that should be a good read but does not work well in the context of a Captain Carrot comic. On a POSITIVE, THE ARTWORK INSIDE THIS 3 ISSUE DOUBLE SIZED MINI SERIES IS EXCELLENT!!
This was a special time. DC had a less serious approach to its continuity and embraced its silly past, and Superman or Batman could literally team with anyone! These days however such continuity has been all but erased however we know Captain Carrot still exists even in the NEW 52 as he was brought back in the ill-fated Threshold series as the space rabbit Captain K’Rot! It’s not my Cap but at least the leader of the Zoo Crew is still alive and well in some fashion.
So before we depart to other ends of the galaxy in search of retro 80s transmissions I just want to talk Zoo Crew one more time!! Who was your favorite? I was strictly an original Zoo Crew fan. Sorry Little Cheese and American Eagle but this guy keeps it old school! Sporting The Yellow and Red with a Carrot Emblazoned on the front of his suit Captain Carrot was the undisputed leader of the Zoo Crew!
Of Course The Captain may have been my favorite but I could not but hold a special place for the two-fisted ever loving Pig Iron! Cap was a comic book artist something I always wanted to be, but Pig Iron simply put bad guys on their asses!! Pig Iron was the reason I bought Zoo crew in the beginning! Look at a cover gallery of the best Zoo Crew issues and Pig Iron is always front and center! Frankenstein meets the Thing and BAM..Its Pig Iron!
No team is complete with out the magician character! Always wondered what a NEW 52 Zoo Crew Dark would be like? Hey DC its worth a shot! Alley-Kat-Abra would be a shoe in for that group! Doctor Strange meets his cat, meets Zatanna. Alley -Kat is a foundation member! As many of you know I am not a huge fan of the mystic arts in comics so Alley Kat was never on the top of my list for favorite Zoo Crew members but a lot of her inter-dimensional magic was heavily lifted from the great Steve Ditko run on Doctor Strange..and thats pretty damn cool.
I was always a Plastic Man fan, Rubber Duck filled the gap. Part Elongated man, Part Plastic man RubberDuck maintained the humor of Plastic man while bearing the sensibilities of old Ralph! Rubber Duck is the only member of the team who is a celebrity! His list of Funny Animal movies is great! His character is actually based on 70s and 80s celebrity Burt Reynolds. They even gave RubberDuck a celebrity buddy named after Reynolds real life best friend Dom Deluise! Thats attention to detail!
Fastback has probably my favorite look of all the Zoo crew even though he is underutilized in the comic. The more I think of it, if Flash inadvertently caused Flashpoint to create the goddamn horrible DC New 52 maybe Fastback is our only hope to reverse that mess! He is also the only Turtle who is just as cool or maybe far cooler than a certain group of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Then there’s Yankee Poodle, based on 80s gossip writer Rona Barrett , dimension’s Cs Rova Barkitt! After the incident with the meteor Barkitt gain the powers of magnetism and joined RubberDuck as he joined the Zoo Crew. Wonder Woman meets Captain America and you have Yankee Poodle. This character was more than filler but was also an antagonist for the other female character in the group Alley-Kat Abra!!
END TRANSMISSION..
WARNING HEROES…we are encountering a distress signal from the rest of The SUPER-BLOG TEAM UP gang…we need to immediately change course…For ETERNIA..Home of THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE...
SUPER-HERO SATELLITE and The All New..All Powerful SBTU returns for the next big Crossover Event on September 24 2014. Join the team for Team-Up Tear Down where, like the transmission post above we all jump into to explore the best, most unusual and peculiar Team Ups in Comics History,..This is one you Do NOT want to miss..
If you liked this post then by all means let us here at the Satellite know by leaving a comment. Maybe even follow me on Twitter @Charlton_Hero and join the Conversations at #SuperHeroSatellite and #SuperBlogTeamUp or #SBTU
Please Visit our Super Blog Team Up Hub Page for all previous editions of the Mighty Marching SBTU!! Click here!! SUPER-BLOG TEAM UP HUB PAGE.
The SuperHero Satellite 