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Ghosts Annual 1998: Shoe Shine.. Back from the Dead!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Eighteen different blogs have combined forces today to share some ghost stories in honor of All Hallows’ Eve! Our efforts today are loosely based upon the DC Comics crossover “Ghosts” that appeared in the 1998 JLA-related Annuals. During that crossover, the heroes fought against or were “haunted” by figures who had died throughout their careers. For example, remember The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man Annual #6 (1998) featuring the ghostly return of “Shoe” Shine, the man responsible for the murder of Ronnie Raymond’s mother?

Firestorm Annual #5 - Ghosts

Just in case you’ve never read this Annual, here is a brief recap. The ghost of deceased mobster “Shoe” Shine invades the Firestorm matrix. His plan is to escape hell by trading Martin Stein’s soul for his own. “Shoe” Shine’s ghost wrestles control of Firestorm from Ronnie for a short period of time, but is eventually exorcised with the assistance of the Phantom Stranger.

Does that ring any bells? Still struggling to remember this Annual? Really? … ummm … well, okay … You got me. Dedicated Match-heads (and anyone else who can easily see through my terrible Photoshop above) know there was no Fury of Firestorm Annual in 1998. In fact, Firestorm wasn’t even being published at the time.

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself! There is this cool blog crossover going on today about the 1998 “Ghosts” Annuals. I’m a sucker for these crossovers and wanted to play along. Therefore I repurposed an image and the plot from The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #32 (Feb. 1985). That issue actually features the story of “Shoe” Shine’s ghost. For a full recap, click here to check out the amazing “I am the Phantom Stranger” blog. Then click here to return to Firestorm Fan and read my thoughts on the issue.

Halloween Heroes

Halloween Heroes Crossover Links

As mentioned, 18 different blogs have teamed-up today to share some Halloween fun! My thanks to Chad Bokelman, the stellar Green Lantern-themed blogger over at Corps Conjecture and The LanternCast, who recruited all of us for today’s hijinks! While I’m featuring Firestorm here on my site, you should visit these other character-specific blogs to see how they spotlight their own favorite heroes today. Visit them now, visit them later, and visit them often!

If you’ve enjoyed this blog crossover, then you should check out some previous comic blog crossovers we’ve done. The first major blog crossover celebrated the gorgeous George Pérez/Alex Ross painting from the Crisis on Infinite Earths 1998 hardcover. The next major blog crossover was a celebration of the Super Powers Collection’s 25th Anniversary. Some subsequent major crossovers included: DC Challenge, Read This Too, Mayfairstivus, April Fool’s Day 2011, Blackest Night to Brightest Day, Green Lantern: Circle of Fire, Animated Anthem Day, Secret Files & Origins, and DragonCon 2012 Cosplay!

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8 Comments

  1. […] – Firestorm in “Shoe Shine… Back from the Dead” @ Firestorm Fan […]

  2. […] – Firestorm in “Shoe Shine… Back from the Dead” @ Firestorm Fan […]

  3. Sean Koury says:

    Nice article, Shag. I love the mocked up Annual #6 cover. Maybe one day, I’ll get in on one of these blog cross-overs, but I don’t see how. Captain Carrot doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for these things.

  4. […] “Shoe Shine…Back from the Dead” @ Firestorm Fan […]

  5. Sooo impressed you “created” a comic for the event, Shag – good post too.
    Well done, man ..I think DC needs to do another spectral annual soon..

    I love the crossovers.

  6. “The ghost of deceased mobster ”Shoe” Shine invades the Firestorm matrix. His plan is to escape hell by trading Martin Stein’s soul for his own. “Shoe” Shine’s ghost wrestles control of Firestorm from Ronnie for a short period of time, but is eventually exorcised with the assistance of the Phantom Stranger.”

    I read that and IMMEDIATELY thought, “Oh sh*t! I want to read that!” Then I thought, “Wait a second, that is WAY too good of a story for Shag to just make up.”

    Almost had me there brother. lol. But anyways, thanks for playing along for the cross over! It was great to have one of my favorite sites join in. Maybe we can do it again sometime in the future!

  7. Shag says:

    Thanks for all the comments!

    @Sean – We’ll definitely include you on any crossovers that make sense! Looking forward to Captain Carrot joining a future crossover!

    @Arthur – Thanks! You did a great job on your Swamp Thing post too! Love the supernatural stuff. Not a lot of opportunities for Firestorm in this area.

    @Chad – Thank you for suggesting and organizing this crossover! You did an excellent job! I look forward to future crossovers! And if you are interested in that Firestorm story, check out FURY OF FIRESTORM #32. That’s where I stole the idea from. :)

    Shag

  8. […] “Shoe Shine.. Back from the Dead” @ Firestorm Fan […]

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