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WHO’S WHO: The Definitive Podcast of the DC Universe, Volume XII

Who's Who: The Definitive Podcast of the DC UniverseThe Fire and Water Podcast Presents… WHO’S WHO: THE DEFINITIVE PODCAST OF THE DC UNIVERSE, Volume XII!

The twelfth episode of our WHO’S WHO podcast is now available — the show that dares to tackle one of DC Comics’ greatest publications! Each episode Rob and I cover a single issue of the legendary 1980s series, Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe. This time around we chat about WHO’S WHO: Volume XII, discussing characters such as Jonny Double, Jor-El, Justice League of America, Justice Society of America, Kamandi, Kid Flash, Killer Frost, King Faraday, Kobra, and many more! We wrap up the show with Who’s Who Listener Feedback! This episode sponsored in part by InStockTrades.com!

Be sure to check out our Tumblr site for several pages from this Who’s Who issue: FireandWaterPodcast.Tumblr.com!

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail at: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

You can find the twelfth episode of WHO’S WHO: THE DEFINITIVE PODCAST OF THE DC UNIVERSE on iTunes. Each episode is released as part of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST feed. While you’re on iTunes, please drop us a review. Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (75 MB).

Thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on this episode! Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic Who’s Who theme song!

One of the coolest aspects of each Who’s Who issue was the amazing wrap-around cover! Check out this impressive Paris Cullins and Dick Giordano cover for Volume XII! Click the image to enlarge.

Who’s Who: The Definitive Podcast of the DC Universe, Volume XII cover by Paris Cullins and Dick Giordano

Here are your Firestorm-related Who’s Who entries from this issue…

Killer Frost, arguably Firestorm’s most well-known adversary, drawn by the co-creator of the character Al Milgrom!

Killer Frost Who's Who entry by Al Milgrom

Justice League of America, featuring our favorite hot-head, by Luke McDonnell & Bill Wray. In retrospect, probably should have gone with Perez for an entry this important. Before anyone comments, I realize Luke McDonnell was drawing the JLA at the time. I’m just sayin’, such a high profile entry with this art…   Click to enlarge.

Justice League of America by Luke McDonnell & Bill Wray

Support Firestorm (and the WHO’S WHO podcast)! Fan the flame!

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41 Comments

  1. Siskoid says:

    Who’s Who vol.12! And oh my, I wasn’t even finished doing Who’s This for Vol.11! You’re really got a monthly rhythm going! Remember the early ‘casts when that seemed a pipe dream? And with Rob sick to boot! 2018 is closer than you think, I started blogging in 2006, which seems completely bonkers to me. Time flies, as they say.

    Talk before opening the comic: Andy Mangels wrote a DS9 comic entitled “Lwaxana Troi and the Wedding of Doom” so, let’s take that in.

    cover: A great one. (I say Kund, silent “h”, by the way, and indeed just used them in my DC RPG this weekend.)

    Jonny Double: Marv Wolfman wrote that original story and that paragraph is right from the issue, the first thing you’re told on the second page, Jonny’s first appearance!

    Jor-El: Lara/Laurel? One’s an El, the other’s a Gand! Great pic, and I cherish every piece of the Earth-1 Superman we got, given we didn’t get the Man of Steel himself.

    Judomaster: Sensei is I believe pronounced Sen-SAY, you need to watch the Karate Kid again (the movie, not the comic). We should probably point out that Iron Fist, another blond martial arts master, didn’t appear until well into the kung fu movie craze, in 1974. So Judomaster was definitely before his time.

    JLA: I believe Luke McDonnell was one of the few artists who would have agreed to draw Vibe.

    JLA HQ: The Souvenir room is very cool, though I can only recognize the stuffed Starro suspended from the ceiling.

    JSA: Johnny Thunder riding his Thunderbolt > Gypsy riding Elongated Man. Every time.

    JSA HQ: McFarlane back when he was doing technical drawings… Compare the people on the street with the size of the windows. Only two rooms of note? Lame, Todd. Lame.

    J. Wilbur Wolfingham: Bob Smith should have pencilled more comics and/or entries, I really like what he’s done here.

    Kalibak: Your mention of the Super-Friends reminds me that a lot of my good will for the (evil) New Gods early on WAS because of their appearances on that show and it came full circle in the way they were used on the Superman animated series of the 90s. Obviously, I later discovered the Kirby comics and liked them for a whole host of new reasons. Speaking of Kirby (and skipping Kalista entirely)…

    Kamandi: At the time, my mind was totally blown by the idea that OMAC was his grandpa. And then it blew it AGAIN by saying Tommy Tomorrow was the same person! WTH My mind! You maniacs! You blew it up!

    Kana: Definitely one for the Who’s This.

    Kandor: There’s also crystal kryptonite in there, so the bald dude must be the guy from the crystal k story, but I can never tell those Kryptonians apart.

    Kanjar Ro: I just wish the surprint piece with the JLA rowing a boat would be clearer.

    Karate Kid: I love how every Karate Kid movie must (by law) mention this character in the credits. It was a little crazy to allow this guy to join the Legion on the basis of his “Super-Karate” being a unique power not yet represented. Cuz there aren’t a lot of Legionnaires who can hit things.

    Katana: There’s little text because NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS IN OUTSIDERS COMICS. And she’s fighting that ridiculous Nunchaku guy, who was in the Soul Taker too. I made a lot of fun of him you know where.

    Key: Old-fashioned, but the artists make it look like a dynamic Kirby character. And yeah, Morrison’s JLA #7-8, with the JLA members in alt-universe fantasies, and Green Arrow FIGHTS ALONE.

    Khunds: The cyber-Klingons of the DCU. At least, the way I use them in role-playing games.

    Kid Eternity: I love the idea of Kid Eternity, and the few Golden Age stories I’ve read were very cool, bringing characters from history to help him. The Vertigo version (though the mini was pre-Vertigo) didn’t really have those powers (the historical figures were demons who took their shapes), and so not as good. DC recently published a Kid Eternity one-shot as part of their National Comics line, which all read like cheap pilots for TV show ideas, where the Kid can summon the recently deceased and have them help him bring their killer to justice. Again, not the same.

    Kid Flash: Shouldn’t he look sickly if his powers were killing him?

    Killer Moth: We have to see the costume, because Moths are drawn to lights.

    Killer Sharks: Researching it brings up Shark I appearing in 1952, and II only in 1984, so Rob has it.

    The King: One of those Golden Age characters long forgotten, which is Who’s This’ bread and butter.

    King Faraday: I’m surprised he wasn’t under “I” for I Spy, just like Bennett is I, Vampire. Maybe he could have had a full page and the King too.

    Knights of the Galaxy: Wow, that’s some short text. Ok, full appearances up to that point (not counting reprints) include DC Super Stars #2 and Mystery in Space #1-8. That’s slightly more than your site gave them credit for.

    Kobra: A bit too much dead space in the surprint for me, but what’s there is of course excellent. Yo Joe! Not unlike the old Eclipso strips, Kobra’s series was really more about his heroic brother (like Eclipso’s alter ego) trying to foil his evil plans.

    Kole: She’s beautiful. Of course the character was created to die, basically. A real write-off.

    Kong the Untamed: I love how the text justifies the appearance of anachronistic dinosaurs in his strip.

    LISTENNNERRRRR FEEDBAAAACK!!!!!!!: Maybe *I’M* the one who needs to reevaluate Legends, Shag. I’m open to doing so. Watch the skies…

    I didn’t go to school with any other listener. There ARE only about 10 people in Canada, but we’re hundreds of miles apart.

  2. Martin Gray says:

    Great to have you chaps back so soon. I had to have a look at the entry to realise you were referring to the Khunds – I always read it as ‘cunds’ and couldn’t believe DC could gat away with it.

    Presumably the Earth X transfers get so much play because Len Wein wrote that JLA story that put them here retroactively. Or mebbe not!

    Did Huntress not die under a force shield or rock with Robin and Kole in COIE?

    The Kid Eternity/Captain Marvel Jr brother thing was a Seventies addition by, if memory serves, ENB (Brid-well, no ‘e’!)

    It was brilliant to hear that Jericho has a fan, proving nothing’s impossible.

    Legends was great – fun story, great art and tremendous spin-offs.

  3. Martin Stein Returns says:

    I always got the idea that Louise Lincoln and Crystal Frost were more than just friends back in college….

  4. Anj says:

    I thought I wouldn’t have much to say about this issue but after thumbing through it, it turns out (as usual) that I do.

    Jonny Double – I will admit I have no recollection of Supergirl and him fighting Dr. Tzin-Tzin so off to the long box I go. I do think that Peter Pan paragraph is somewhat poetic for something like Who’s Who.

    Jor-El – I love this page. Boring and Ordway also drew the Secret Origins #1 Superman of Earth-2 issue. Just beautiful stuff in that issue. I will always appreciate a classic Jor-El as a brilliant scientist.

    Justice League – I agree that McDonnell is an odd and rough pic for the biggest super-team of the universe. There are so many other choices that would have been great here. I will admit I am one of the few who likes the Black Canary outfit depicted here. Not more than the classic fishnet look, just not vilified as others do. And Gypsy looks odd riding on Elongated Man. The JLA page stands out for its pedestrian art when compared to the Ordway JSA page which is beautiful.

    J. Wilbur Wolfingham – I can’t believe that Rob thinks Superman fans are happy to see this guy here when so many other characters from Superman and his history were left out. And don’t get me started on Supergirl characters left out of these pages (Black Flame, Lesla Lar, etc). I can imagine everyone who felt someone was left out of Who’s Who looked at this page and vomited in their mouths. Just a waste.

    Kalibak -Thanks to Rob I can never look at Kalibak again without thinking of Fredo. I can picture him yelling at Orion ‘I’m smart! I should be looking after you!’

    Kamandi – I was never a fan of this character. But the Dave Gibbons/Ryan Sook strip in Wednesday Comics was damn near perfect with art that was just beautiful.

    Kandor – The creation of Rokyn and the enlargement of Kandor in Superman #338 was one of the first issues I bought as a kid which I thought was ‘important’ from a continuity point of view. The creation of the Kandor memorial inhabited by aliens felt like a lame step backwards. There is a nice moment in Alan Moore’s famous ‘For the man who has everything’ story where Wonder Woman presents Superman with ‘another’ replica of Kandor. So she doesn’t feel bad, Supes super-speeds into the other room, puts the old new Kandor into a closet, and then graciously accepts her gift. Cute moment.

    King Faraday – he seems ripe for a re-thinking in a pulpy Ed Brubaker style book. I thought it was a shame he only got half a page. Why hasn’t DC realized this! He also had a couple of nice moments in Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier.

    Knights of the Galaxy – Hey Shag, here is another plug for the Chaykin/Garcia-Lopez Twilight book. The Knights of the Galaxy get a complete rethinking in this book, especially Lyle! That book is well worth reading.

    Kole – let me echo the sentiment that I love this art on this page. I only knew Kole from Crisis and was sort of sad to see her go after seeing this page, the great costume, and the interesting powers. As a dad myself though, I worry about all these parents who knowingly experiment on their kids in the DCU. Creepy.

    Glad I could help settle the surprint question!

    Thanks again for another great episode.

    Justice Society –

  5. Anthony Durso/The Toyroom says:

    I was just thinking the other day it was about time for another Who’s Who podcast…

    The cover: Thankfully the master, George Perez, returns to Who’s Who cover art
    chores (for a little while anyway)with the next issue. I’m pretty much done with
    Paris Cullins at this point.

    • Jonny Double: Jonny Double was created by Marv Wolfman AND Len Wein,
    the founding fathers of “Who’s Who”.

    • Jor-El: One of my favorite pieces in the entire “Who’s Who” series. I love the
    Silver Age Superman mythos. Boring and Ordway mesh together nicely. They’d
    also work together on the Superman origin in “Secret Origins” #1 (Vol. 2, 1986)

    (BTW- Cousin Kru-El is an inhabitant of The Phantom Zone. Facially he resembles the Terrance Stamp
    version of General Zod.)

    • Judo Master: Judo Master always seems to be the forgotten Charlton character.
    He didn’t even rate a pastiche in “Watchmen”.

    • Justice League of America: I agree 100%…Not a fan of Luke McDonnell and Bill Wray’s art on this piece. It’s so underwhelming and is somewhat a slap in the face to DC’s premiere super-hero team. If Perez was unavailable I would have preferred to see this spread drawn by JLGL or Ordway.
    Either artist would have done much more with the subject matter than the artists
    that were selected.

    (BTW- Snapper Carr is in the same category as Adam Strange and Sargon the Sorcerer…
    honorary members. Metamorpho too I think.)

    • JLA HQ: I was always confused by stories that showed the Satellite Era JLA (or others) going back to the Secret Sanctuary in Happy Harbor to retrieve some old trophy or artifact. Shouldn’t all of that stuff have just been moved up to the satellite instead of leaving it where some foe could have stumbled across it?

    • Justice Society of America: Now THIS is what the JLA entry SHOULD have looked
    like. It’s freaking’ amazing!

    (BTW- Huntress and Robin died in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #12 alongside Kole under a crystal
    dome as they were attacked by Shadow Demons)

    • J. Wilbur Wolfingham: He had 12 appearances between 1944 and 1952. And only
    two appearances (1979 and 1985) since then.

    • Kalista: At this point in the Who’s Who series, The Omega Men are dead to me. I hate them. Binky, Sugar & Spike, Prez and others could have used the space devoted to the Omega Men.

    • Kamandi: A high concept character that DC leaves lingering on the dust-covered
    shelf in lieu of publishing it’s 17th Bat-related title. SMH

    • Kana: Wasted space…NEXT!

    • Kandor: Now while I think that Kandor deserves an entry, I’m not sure if it does
    at the expense of other characters who didn’t make the cut.

    • Kanjar Ro and The Key: I’m a fan of anything Silver Age so it always brings a smile to my face when
    I see characters like this. A simpler time perhaps…

    • Karate Kid: One of my favorite Legionnaires since I first discovered them in the
    70s. Great artwork…I’m glad his entry shows him in the costume he is most known for
    instead of the more recent one that he died in.

    • Katana: My least favorite of the Outsiders. IMO she doesn’t deserve the big push
    DC is currently giving her on different platforms. Kinda like “Cyborg Syndrome”.
    These characters are C-listers and aren’t worthy to be JLA-level.

    • The Khunds: Siskoid and I are on the same page with these guys. The “h” is silence and yes, they are the Klingons of the LSH Universe…

    • Kid Devil: This could have been a half-page. I didn’t care how DC treated this
    character in later years. Seems like everything fun eventually gets bastardized
    to make it more modern and “edgy”.

    • Kid Eternity: Kid Eternity was originally a Quality Comics character who was
    later retconned to be the brother of Freddy Freeman aka Captain Marvel Jr., a
    Fawcett Comics character, by….E. Nelson Bridwell. In retrospect, Bridwell appears
    to be an earlier version of Geoff Johns…tying together obscure threads of DC continuity.

    • Kid Flash: Wally’s powers were killing him every time he used them. But as of
    “Crisis” #12 he went into remission and assumed the mantle of The Flash.

    • Killer Frost: I prefer this costume/identity for KF over the later versions…

    • Killer Moth: I can’t explain why but I’ve always had a soft spot for this character.
    To me he’s the epitome of the goofy, gimmicky villains Batman faced repeatedly in the 50s and early 60s. Forget Calendar Man, Firefly, The Zodiac Master, Cat-Man, Spellbinder and others. Killer Moth is the real deal. He just represents to me a different time when comic books could be fun instead of today’s approach to dark, dreary and taking themselves way too seriously.

    (And as a fan I disavow anything that happened to Killer Moth from “Underworld Unleashed” ,where he became Charaxes, onward…)

    • Killer Shark(s): Because one just isn’t enough.

    • The King: A precursor to the Human Target?

    • King Faraday: I first encountered this character in “New Teen Titans” #18. I would
    love to have seen a book from DC featuring charters like King Faraday and Jonny Double on a regular basis. Missed opportunity IMO.

    • Knights of the Galaxy: WTF? (Did some quick research…Knights of the Galaxy appeared in “Mystery In Space” #1-8)

    • Kobra: A great underused villain. My first introduction to him was in “Aquaman” #61 also.

    • Kole: The New Teen Titans were watered down IMO with the addition of Kole
    and Azrael. Visually they were interesting but I really had no interest in the characters’ stories.

    • Kong the Untamed: Apparently Kong is now a direct descendant of Anthro
    (but isn’t everybody?)

    On the whole, not a stellar group of characters unfortunately (damn alphabet).

    ‘Til next time…

  6. Kyle Benning says:

    Yay Who’s Who! I love the Fire & Water Podcast but I think Who’s Who has become my favorite!

    I think Jerry “The Extraordinary” Ordway is the way to go! Man he is such a phenomenol artist and I think that is a nickname he is well worthy of.

    I love that awesome Justice League of America Entry, that may be my favorite entry of the entire series in CONCEPT, but damn it falls flat on its face in execution. It could have been absolutely amazing if tackled by a high profile artist. You mention if George Perez had tackled this, man that would have been incredible, but it would have been even better and truly spectacular if they had tapped Jose Luis Garcia Lopez to do this entry. That would have been absolutely breathe taking! Plus, George Perez pretty much hates Vibe, whether he did at this point or not, I’m not sure, but I don’t think he would have drawn it with Vibe in it. It was a great idea for an entry, just poorly executed. I think Byrne drawing it would have been awesome as well, at this point I think he was still mostly doing Marvel work, but he had done work for DC before and even in previous Who’s Who, he and George Perez were arguably the top artists in Comics at this time, it would have been great to see John tackle this piece as well. But I’m a bit biased, as I think John Byrne is probably my all time favorite comic creator. I cut my teeth on a lot of his stuff growing up. His art & storytelling are amazing, while some don’t care for some of his quotes and ramblings, I’m not sure how you can’t love a guy who says things like “You can tell when Erik is saying something stupid —his lips move.” Simply classic. I would think that anyone who dislikes Larsen’s awful Fantastic Four and Aquaman can enjoy that one! 😛

    Now the JSA spread by Jerry Ordway, that is how you do it! Man that 2 page spread is awesome! Wow! The only way it could have been sweeter is if it had a WW II era American Flag (48 stars) in the surprint.

    Hahahaha so true! Kalibak totally is the Fredo of the Apokolips New Gods family. I really prefer this design of Kalibak over the updated/90’s on design of the character. Kirby in the past has been accused of having limited diversity in character designs, with people saying a lot of characters look almost identical (see his Thor vs. his Kamandi) and this Kalibak is fairly unique. The current design of the character makes Kalibak look much more like another Kirby invention, Blaastar. The Kalibak figure from the Super Powers line might be my favorite of the villains figures.

    Isn’t that so sad and tragic that DC isn’t interested in a Kamandi series? I would think he’d be fairly popular, among all ages, with the appeal for young readers coming in the character being exposed to an all new audience courtesy of his inclusion in a couple of episodes of the great Brave & the Bold cartoon. Thank you Rob for posting that article on your facebook page, I think that generated a lot of great discussion.

    Ninjas…Bionic Man….Bionic Ninjas? That would have been the ultimate 80’s comic. Teenage Bionic Ninja Warriors! Heroes with Metal Parts, Bionic Power!

    I’ll ignore the hating on the Superman characters and mythos in this episode, I guess I should expect it from 2 people who are unable to comprehend the all around awesomeness that is Composite Superman.

    Kanjar Ro, might be one of the strangest villains of all times. I never really understood his insect eyes. It’s crazy that he was once such a huge part of the JL and DCU stories, and a major villain, when he is little more than a footnote nowadays. I loved his inclusion and the new story using him in the DC Retroactive 70’s JLA story. Man I wish they’d do those stories every summer, I thought that was a great little publishing scheme and a nice window into DC’s rich past.

    I agree on Shagg’s analysis of the Killer Frost entry, I would have much rather seen a Pat Broderick draw this entry.

    While I will agree that Knights of the Galaxy don’t deserve a full page, they did actually have more appearances than Shagg gave them credit for. In addition to Mystery in Space #1, they also appeared in issues #2-8 and DC Super Stars #2, which Siskoid already pointed out. But my research also shows that they appeared in Justice League of America #85 (Dec 1970) and #91 (August 1971), perhaps our resident JLA expert Rob Kelly could verify that?

    I want to reiterate that Legends is spectacular, and they really need to give that book the Absolute Edition treatment!!! I think Legends stands on its own in greatness, but when you start to compare it to some of the other DC events like Millennium and War of the Gods, it makes Legends seem even greater! Even throwing Nostalgia out the window, I’ll take Legends over every single crossover event Marvel has done in the last decade, and every DC event in the last 5 years.

    I can’t help but see the similarities between Shagg trying to pronounce fans names from facebook & twitter and the theme song “Mr. Pretzel, Mr. Lipstick, Mr. Mxyzfuzzle?”

    Another amazing episode guys, hats off to making an almost 3 hour podcast with Rob under the weather. That Rum and Benedryl must be quite the remedy. It was an All-Star episode indeed, Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

  7. rob! says:

    But my research also shows that they appeared in Justice League of America #85 (Dec 1970) and #91 (August 1971), perhaps our resident JLA expert Rob Kelly could verify that?

    Yes I can! Those were reprint-heavy issues of JLA, where you’d get a new JLA story followed by all reprints. So I’m sure those two appearances by the Knights are simply reprints of old stories.

  8. Kyle Benning says:

    I just wanted to add one tidbit about Kamandi that maybe someone such as Frank could verify. While there are obvious parallels between Kirby’s Kamandi series and Planet of the Apes, and perhaps DC’s reason for going ahead with pulishing the series was in fact to capitalize on the popularity of Planet of the Apes, however Kirby’s idea for Kamandi and the strip predates this time period by 20 years! Kirby explored this premise in Alarming Tales #1 in 1956. He also had an unpublished strip titled “Kamandi in the Caves” also in 1956 that then became the recipe for his Kamandi series.

    This is just another case of Kirby being a visionary and conceiving some really genre-stretching ideas way ahead of their time. Obviously his 4th World stuff is pretty highly regarding now by many, it’s a shame it didn’t have the same respect when it was published as it does now.

  9. @Rob: I’m not sure if I ever mentioned this, but I’m a bit of a Black Canary fan. But Wonder Woman was the founding member of the Justice League. I never liked the retcon that Canary was part of the first lineup, and I’m glad that bit of revisionist history was re-written again.

    @Shag: I really like Golden Age Black Canary wearing a domino mask. It works for the Dinah Drake version as it evokes the “mystery man” feel of that era, and I’m very happy Jerry Ordway included it in this knockout image of the Justice Society of America.

    @Anthony Durso/The Toyroom: I whole-heartedly agree with you about Killer Moth. There is no rational reason to like this character, but I really, really do! I loved his team-up with Firefly in BATGIRL: YEAR ONE. And though I would love to see him make a comeback, I’m convinced that they would bring back the moth monster Charaxes version, given what the New 52 did to Bronze Tiger.

    @Anj: I never liked that Black Canary costume depicted in the JLA entry. Not my least favorite Canary costume ever–that honor goes to the “sexy super spy” outfit she wore in the late ’90s BIRDS OF PREY/early 2000s JSA–but sorry, I don’t like this blue sweatsuit look. On the other hand, I agree about the Kamandi strip by Gibbons and Sook in WEDNESDAY COMICS. One of the best stories in that book.

    Other thoughts:

    That Killer Frost is awesome! There’s a frozen princess/walking corpse vibe to her that is equal parts striking, creepy, and unique. And the more I look at this image, the sadder I get about the homogenization of character designs in the New 52.

    Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez draws Kole but not Justice League of America?!! Really… Kole?!!

  10. Phylemon says:

    No hard feelings, guys. I’ve been made fun of by better people than you. I will still stand up for the fact that Jericho is awesome even if I have to stand alone.

    I’m afraid that I don’t have any shockingly controversial things to say about this issue, but I’ll give it the old college try.

    1. I don’t understand Rob not getting into Silver Age Superman. The Jor-El and Kandor entries are nostalgia gold (although I will confess that I agree on the issue of scale in Kandor.)

    2. Ooh! I can disagree with you about the handling of The Post Crisis time. I loved that ambiguity with some characters remembering their pre-crisis lives. I think DC would have been better if, instead of the slapdash retcons (I’m looking at you Donna Troy), they focused on the drama that came from these characters losing their whole histories.

    3. I also think that DC would have been better off if they hadn’t killed Kole. She was around for such a short time, and was a character who would have obviously been elevated by her association with an A-lister like Jericho!

    4. I love the concept of Kid Eternity and think the Vertigo stuff was peeing in the Cheerios. I would want him back only if he resembled this classic take.

    5. And just to be contrary, I think Killer Moth’s costume is cool and that the Knights of the Galaxy have tons of poten . . . No, not even I can say that with a straight face.

  11. Siskoid says:

    Kyle: Those are both reprints from the later (if can say that about an 8-issue run) Knights stories in Mystery in Space. CONFIRMED. And if we’re going to evaluate Legends against recent crossovers from both companies, well, as I often say, if you’re going to bury the bar in the dirt, I’m sure we can walk right over it.

    Now, are we looking at Legends THE BOOK, or are we also looking at everything with the Legends banner on it?

    By the way, I would have definitely taken Chuck Patton on JLA, if they didn’t want to go for a star artist. (That said, Luke McDonnell on Suicide Squad forever.)

  12. Anj says:

    I actually liked Legends a lot.
    Sure the plot is like mutant-phobia.
    But think about that book – Ostrander/Byrne.
    Introduction to JLA
    Introduction of the new post-Crisis Wonder Woman.
    Introduction of the Suicide Squad, with the re-emergence of Deadshot.
    The immolation of Blockbuster.
    The creation of Brimstone.
    Glorious Godfrey donning the helmet of Fate!
    Captain Marvel!!!
    Guy Gardner saying eep when he sees Diana trash some robotic hellhounds.

    And those are recollections of the top of my head.

    Think of all the crummy crossovers. Legends isn’t one of them.

  13. Luke says:

    Shag, you’re from Florida. You are not from the South. Moving on…

    Regarding the Justice League’s microfilm library: When I first graduated from college, I worked at my alma mater Clemson University’s RM Cooper Library as a government document cataloger. And let me tell you, transfering stuff from microfilm and microfiche to digital is a pain in the butt, so yeah, I can buy the JLA not taking the time to do all that.

    Personally speaking, I have long thought that only Jack Kirby could draw Kalibak correctly.

    Jim Aparo handling Katana. Awww yeah. I am always torn whether he was better on Tatsu, or if Alan Davis is superior. Both of them were awesome, and Katana is one of my favorite heroines in all of comics. One of my favorite Katana moments can when Bruce Wayne returned to the present day after his “death.” In Markovia, Batman (disguised as “The Insider”) tangles with Geo-Force’s loyalist Outsiders, and he specifically puts over Katana as the only one of the Outsiders he was concerned about fighting. Great little beat from Barr. Beyond Beware The Batman, Katana also appeared in the Batman: The Brave and The Bold as a young sword wielding girl.

    If Discovery can do a fake documentary about the Megalodon, I see no reason not to do a show about the various Killer Sharks. Pfft.

    Kong The Untamed was one of the S&S-style books which DC put out as part of the DC Explosion, none of which made it save Warlord. Others include Beowulf: Dragon Slayer, Joe Kubert’s Tor, Justice Inc. (featuring the Avenger), Hercules Unbound, Stalker: The Man Without a Soul, and Claw the Unconquered. Kong is essentially a ripoff of Korag, son of Tarzan, but this short-run series remains on my “to buy” list, in my effort to collect all of the Explosion S&S books.

    Thanks for the good show guys!

  14. Martin Gray says:

    @Luke, none of those titles you mention in the last par originated with the DC explosion, they’re generally a couple of years earlier, regular-sized 20 and 25 cents books, not the all-new 50c bigger comics of the Explosion.

    The only one still around by the time of the Implosion was Claw, which did indeed go PLOP!

  15. Luke says:

    @Martin, they were however part of the “First…Then…Now!” print ad which is generally considered part of the early stages of the Explosion — that is, the increased publishing output from 1975 (’76 for Warlord), not the price and page increase.

    Claw The Unconquered really only made it to the Implosion because it took an 18 month layoff from Sept/Oct 1976 to Apr/May 1978. Also, Warlord was obviously still around at the Implosion, since it survived it, and lasted until 1988.

  16. Frank says:

    Z) Please note that Bob Rozakis claims that the proper name is surprint, then uses the word “hold” throughout his description of a color ho–er, “surprint.” You know, I already noted in a previous commentary that both terms were applicable. Do I not hold the same authority as the Answer Man? Respond at your own peril. I have more letters than you. All the letters I can type!

    Y) I skipped Michael Bailey’s “Quest for Peace” commentary, but if he’s going to bat for that piece of crap, I might have to download it after all.

    X) As soon as the podcast referenced the Amazing Heroes artist directory, I went straight to the Steve Ditko listing, and it looks like he doesn’t show until the Qs.

    W) I’m not feeling nearly as bad about contributing to a four hour episode when you guys barely keep this one under three and dawdle for a quarter of an hour before starting to discuss the issue at hand.

    V) The solid black background and smart use of a unifying ice bridge help make this Cullins/Giordano cover less bad than usual. Killer Frost is seriously out of proportion relative to Kid Flash. The close-up on Kobra is nice. Judomaster seemed to get extra love from Giordano, and is complimented by Katana. Kid Devil clowning Kalibak was cute. Jor-El is looking way too comfortable (“Nothing comes between me and my Bottle City of Kandor. Nothing.”)

    U) Siskoid’s right– 2018 sounds reasonable. I’m coming up on my sixth anniversary of blogging, and I say it’s better to have a surplus of material than to burn through everything and have nothing to talk about anymore. It’ll be interesting to see how you guys handle the off-brand volumes. Seven issues of Shag asking “anything to add, Rob” every five minutes on the Legion edition?

    T) Per Len Wein, the Earth-2 Aquaman will apparently be starring in “Justice League: War,” the cartoon adaptation exactly no one asked for.

    S) I used to have Johnny Double’s first appearance , very much a product of a time several years before 1968, but amusing nonetheless. Joe Gill wrote the tale, and he’s probably best known for his Charlton work, where he co-created half of the Action Heroes (including Captain Atom!) Johnny Double’s your typical deadbeat dick, but everyone loves the rhyming “Born to trouble…” tagline and his random insertions into super-hero comics. He’s one of those popular obscurities, if that isn’t an oxymoronic statement. Bill Wray was great over Luke McDonnell, and fine on his own, but he’s what you might call dreadful over Denys Cowan.

    R) Jor-El looks awesome under Boring and ExtraOrdway. I like the unusual green suit/headband/sun symbol look, and am pleased to see it return in the New 52. The Byrne take never did it for me. Hadn’t noticed this before, but you’d expect Jor-El to have Rao on his chest, but he instead has a yellow sun like the one that would bestow powers upon his son. Say, do you think Supergirl’s headband was related to Jor-El’s? I learned from Michael Bailey’s podcast that Superman was a toddler (3 y.o.?) when he was sent to Earth in the Silver/Bronze Age. Wouldn’t “Kryptopia” have been a better ironicish name for the capitol?

    Q) I dig Judomaster’s color scheme and the incorporation of the rising sun, but the few Charlton stories I read were dull, and that seemed to carry over into his handling at DC. He was another in the endless line of great white saviors who co-opted and ”improved” upon the ways of foreign people. He was also the wannabe Captain America of the Action Heroes.

    FYI, “sen-say” is Japanese for “master” or “teacher,” and Shag has somehow missed half a century of kung-fu/anime culture in America. Would have thought he’d at least have investigated hentai. It’s “hot.” Since they had already lost the rights to Thunderbolt, Judomaster’s sidekick Tiger took Ozymandias’ place as villainous traitor of The L.A.W.

    I spoke with George Perez at Comicpalooza, and he said he ghost inked backgrounds during Frank McLaughlin’s run on JLofA. It came up because he was using a Dick Dillin issue as reference for my Commander Blanx sketch, though that one was a much earlier Sid Greene job.

    P) I’ve defended Luke McDonnell repeatedly against Shag’s criticism, and I still believe that he was the superior JLDetroit artist, but… yeah… the JLofA spread sucked. I wasn’t aware that Burne Hogarth produced a volume called “Apathetic Anatomy,” but McDonnell clearly followed it religiously. The team looks like lumbering miscast cosplayers. Only under McDonnell could Vibe be the most triumphant looking member, surely thanks to his costume rendering him 75% silhouette and sunglasses concealing the seemingly uniform impassive eyes. Kyle, Perez drew Vibe on a postcard, during Crisis and in JLA/Avengers, so he’d have done it here.

    I’m uncomfortable with Gypsy demonstrating how she survived on the street, and someone needs to take Sue Didny aside to discuss the matter. It seems like McDonnell took up the challenge of drawing a more Cro-Magnon Wonder Woman than Gene Colan and emerged victorious. The Atom isn’t at his usual 6” scale, but in this instance the heightening helps his presence, since he’s big enough to be highly visible but small enough not to draw attention to his shoddy details.

    I’m surprised to hear Rob grumble about the stripped down Founding Five of Black Canary, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. By removing the Trinity, fans of the other Leaguers were given more time seeing their favorites in team action. The excellent JLA: Year One would have otherwise been a completely different book, surely diminishing the role Aquaman played.

    O) The nickname usage in the JLofA entry allowed for J’onn J’onzz to get screwed once again by the lazy use of “Manhunter from Mars.” That was the name of his strip, not what he was called in it. It’s like calling Batman “The Detective Comic.” He was typically referred to simply as “Manhunter,” and in caption boxes he was usually dubbed the “Alien Atlas, Martian Marvel,” or a variation on “Sleuth from Outer Space.” I loathe instances of sensational nickname roll calls like “That Scarlet Speedster, The Flash” or “The Winged Wonder, Hawkman” where “Martian Manhunter, The Manhunter from Mars” lands with a wet thud of redundancy. We’ve all felt the pain of writers who only know characters from their interpretations in team books carrying their ignorance over to solo spotlights, and there’s no bigger giveaway that they’ve done no serious research on a hero than not picking up on something so basic. That’s why a recent reference in Justice League of America got me excited, because Geoff Johns either read Adventure Comics back-ups while researching Aquaman, or has been by my blog. Either way, that’s more work than most anyone ever puts in.

    In my personal mental Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint continuity rewrite, the Secret Sanctuary was a build-out of the Martian Manhunter & Zook’s secret mountain headquarters from their 1960s adventures. The drawings are much more lively and imaginative than anything Eliot R. Brown would have done.

    N) The Ordster strikes again on the JSA, in the tenth frame, and it would have gone for a second with Mike Machlan inks. Earth-2 Robin’s costume was the ugliest thing on that whole planet. I share Shag’s preference for a masked Black Canary, since a wig alone won’t cut it, but I prefer the larger Huntress-style Golden Age look. I always liked Al Pratt’s original costume, especially compared to the lame fin job that followed. Men in girdles project both strength and sensuality, and Pratt needed something to make up for his soggy personality. The JSA deserve better than even a brief association with Red Tornado. Star-Spangled Kid is opportunistically located. This team in these costumes is positively infested with yellows. They really needed to break up that pee-squad at bottom right. Come to think of it, there’s a lot of red too, especially the upper right quadrant. I never ever liked Starman in any way, shape or form.

    M) Fun Fact: After the Ordained Jerry Ordway left Infinity Inc., he was supposed to write and draw a Huntress mini-series. He was asked to do Crisis first, and didn’t learn that Huntress wouldn’t survive the series until he inked the page where a wall fell on her and she Earth-2 Robin and Kole in getting murdered by Shadow Wraiths. The bodies were never recovered, though.

    L) Great drawing of a big brown building, Todd! That’s some fine architecture! It’s a little known fact that what brings me back to comics month after month, year after year, is exterior shots of historic neighborhoods! You might as well have made those whole deuce spotlight bullets feature bathrooms and closets. This is why you ain’t getting’ no honorarium, Todd. Just an extraneous “D” to match your grade in art class.

    K) I wish artists would draw Kalibak with the Kirby costume. Running around bare-chested does not help his stature in the DC Universe. The truth is though that Kalibak has always been a boring thug. He didn’t have any memorable tangles with Orion like the Deep Six did, and since the Fourth World Saga hinges on a familial conflict with Darkseid, he’s just a distraction in the greater scheme of things. Other Apokolipsians have neat designs or cool powers or a personality, but Kalibak just has punching people who can take it or missing smarter people who can dodge. Maybe if they downgraded Kalibak to fight Mr. Miracle or the Forever People he might find a role, but as is he’s a lower level boss to beat on the way to more interesting New Gods. I wonder if the daughter hinted at in Vibe will be “Kalibaque,” so Wonder Woman has someone better than the Female Furies to fight, but doesn’t compete with Superman for Darkseid. Say Luke, you want Kalibak to fight Hawkman?

    J) I’m developing a strong interest in buying original comic art from the Who’s Who entries. I’ve never destroyed a piece of work before, and consider it immortal, but I’m keen on testing my ethical boundaries with the J. Wilbur Wolfingham and Kalista entries. How much could a Bob Smith original cost, right? I’m a terrible artist, but with enough time, effort, and reference, I think I could birth something unto the world to replace and surpass Tod Smith. Certainly with enough time, effort, beer, and coffee, I could properly express my full appreciation of their output.

    I) Sorry Kyle, but I’m not a Kirby aficionado, so I have nothing new to add to the Apes debate. The flooded Statue of Liberty sort of tells the tale, though. My strongest childhood memory of Kamandi was that when it came time to make trades, his books were among the hot potatoes. Nobody wanted them, so they were used to stack the numbers on a trade, or there were even extorted possessions. “Look, I won’t trade you the ROM you want unless you take this Kamandi off my hands. Deal?” Like vegetables, that was sometimes beneficial, like the time I got strong-armed into taking a loathsome Hulk comic that happened to feature the debut of Rocket Raccoon. Anyway, I might be willing to try a black & white brick of Kamandi, which is how I finally got into New Gods, but it’s not exactly high on my to-do list. I also resent the nerds who tried to mash all those old DC concepts together into one crappy alternate future. It ruins OMAC, because he has to fail to save the Earth from the Great Disaster, thus negating his efforts in his own series. If Kirby created both properties, and he didn’t merge them, his successors shouldn’t have either.

    H) Kana, iron man marathon listeners may recall, was the turd I mocked during my drubbing of the G.I. Combat entry on the DC Sampler Crucible Podcast. This Enter the Revenge of the American Ninja in the Octagon of Death M.F. took up a page based on eight comic book appearances from 1981-1985, slightly more than one short story per year. I won’t threaten to poop on Jungle Action Storm Shadow’s entry though, since he’s a rare Asian DC character and drawn well, even though Joe Brozowski doesn’t seem to have a singular recognizable style. At first blush, I thought this was by Tom Grindberg or Denys Cowan. The strip was a Bob Kanigher/E.R. Cruz joint. I never heard of him neither.

    G) I think Kandor definitely deserved its own entry, and I think Jerry ExtraOrdinary was a much better inker over Wayne Boring than Bob Smith.

    F) The likely reason why Murphy Anderson drew Kanjar Ro is because he was the artist on the very first Justice League of America guest appearance during an Adam Strange story from Mystery in Space, plus he was the villain in an Anderson drawn issue of Hawkman featuring Adam Strange, and Anderson inked the original three-part Rann-Thangar War featuring Kanjar Ro in three issues of Showcase. I think Mike Sekowsky’s departure from DC was forced and acrimonious, and you may note that the output for the company dried up from around 1975-1981, with scattered offerings in the ‘80s. He has no listing in the Amazing Heroes index. Kanjar Ro’s an alright villain, but his main trait is his looks, and they haven’t aged well. Kelly & Mahnke tried to leather him up, but all that came out of that were some appearances in R.E.B.E.L.S.

    E) I’m not terribly familiar with the Pre-Crisis Karate Kid, but I stumbled upon issues of his comic in 1989 and was confused about his lack of connection to the cinematic oeuvre of Ralph Macchio. I read most of the Post Zero-Hour Kid’s adventures though, and he was among the less powerful Legionnaires I tended to favor. Steve Lightle is one of my favorite artists, and entries like this demonstrate why.

    D) Thank God I didn’t see Jim Aparo draw Katana with her mask off often enough to observe her face during this awkward period where he seemed to think Egg Fu was an appropriate reference source. Of all the Outsiders, I think I dislike Katana the least. She’s a total stereotype like Kana, with the bonus of being a knock-off of Elektra (who fought a Razorfist riff?) but she has a nice suit and a decent origin. While I miss the color scheme, her New 52 redesign has grown on me, and I like her burgeoning relationship with Martian Manhunter (who once again masochistically seeks the friendship of someone who’s openly hostile toward him. See also: Aquaman.) Her comic is pretty near the bottom of DC’s sales right now.

    C) Paris Cullins was 100% on for the Key. Perhaps Giordano is to blame, but it sucks how far the covers are from the good work Paris can produce on his own. I can’t believe nobody mentioned the time his body shriveled up like overcooked bacon while his head remained the same size, effectively making his a dwarf. I’ve never read a Key story that wowed me, and I found the JLA redesign (Porter? Jimenez?) rather unimaginative. They basically turned him into Dr. Destiny.

    B) I like to poke fun at Rob’s mild indifference to the Legion, but you guys, he impatiently shooed away the 31st century equivalent of the Klingons. Seriously, you guys are going to have to bring in guest hosts for the Legion devoted edition. Anyway, what idiot/wise person didn’t include the Khunds in the glossary. I’ll have to check, but I’m pretty sure it’s pronounced like what you’d derisively call your mates in an English club, or you’d call your girlfriend in America if you want to be murdered in your sleep. I enjoy the bold combination of Jurgens & Theakston. All that body hair and the droop of the loincloth really make their name into a Yankee Doodle deal. I liked how Kevin Maguire drew them in the Oberon spotlight story from JLI.

    A) The Kid Devil entry reminded me that Alan Kupperberg was not Paris Cullins, but I like him anyway. Dig the shimmer of the goggles and Kupperberg drawing a boy rather than a short adult. I’ll never forgive Mark Waid for screwing up this property.

    ∀) I tend to enjoy Murphy Anderson, and I get a kick out of the Quality characters, but the only Kid Eternity story I ever halfway liked was the recent National Comics one shot. Regardless, I feel like the premise is best suited for a smarter version of a Bill & Ted comedy, not Vertigo darkness. I read the first issue of the Ann Nocenti series when it came out, and it was so terrible I think it contributed to her career faltering in the mid-90s.

    ∂) I don’t mind the distressed Perez Kid Flash, so the art is sweet, and Kid Flash’s costume was better than Barry’s. However, I can’t stand Wally West’s stupid ass. I don’t remember Wally dying from using his powers (ala T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Lightning,) but I think it caused him physical pain, and his speed was diminishing with each use. At the time, he was a whiny right-winger, which made him stand out. He only got less interesting with time, supposedly growing into his “legacy,” but most just becoming a more covert jerk. I don’t think Barry should have come back, but him I liked, and he had a “story engine” his rudderless nephew never found.

    ∃) The comic shop down the street from me that sucks put all their backstock on sale for $1 a year or so ago, and I decided to by a bunch of Firestorm issues that appealed to me for various reasons. I tried to buy all the Killer Frost appearances I could find, and I think Crystal Frost’s last story is among them, but they’re dumped in a random longbox somewhere. Not having read them yet, I have to ask, why did Crystal Frost die? Louise Lincoln replaced her barely a year later with the same powers, costume, and basic personality, right? What motivated Gerry Conway to do that? Was it just because of Al Milgrom’s boob gap and overly ornate dresses?

    Anyway, I best know and like the Lincoln version (including the simplified costumes) and prefer her appearances outside of Firestorm, most specifically her run in the Giffen Suicide Squad series. Glad she’s getting media attention.

    ∅) I always associate Killer Moth with being the goofball so inept that Batgirl beat him on her rookie outing, when her costume was intended only for Halloween. “Often confused with Firefly” is not a thing to aspire to. How do you get from “moth” to “pterodactyl?” Not only was Killer Moth a live action villain on the ‘60s TV show portrayed by Tim Herbert, but his 1995 Underworld Unleashed revision as Charaxes was initiated a decade earlier in a little seen film where he was played by Jeff Goldblum.

    ∇) Kyle Baker could have been a spare Bill Sienkiewicz if he wanted to, and that would have been just fine. Sienkiewicz started out as a back-up Neal Adams, and those always come in handy. He’d have probably had a more profitable career too, but Kyle Baker ended up being a pretty darn good Kyle Baker, so he’s likely happier that way. No matter how neat Kyle drew them, there’s no winning with Killer Shark.

    ∈) Marshall Rogers really likes doing dudes in old timey suits, huh? I’m sorry, but the King wasv too pretty and spent too much time at his vanity to not be a queen. Of course he couldn’t bear to send the Witch to the slammer– she was his role model!

    ∉) Murphy Anderson couldn’t even save Infantino’s shabby I–Spy. When Rob talked about how great King Faraday would have looked with a hipper artist, I kept flashing to Paul Gulacy’s gorgeous covers for the 1993 Danger Trail mini-series. Those images alone made me see the potential in the character, which I think was finally realized in New Frontier. Of course, the interiors to the ’93 miniseries looked like smeared vomit, by which I mean they were by Carmine Infantino + seven years of further deterioration. I believe my Archive Edition of Captain Comet’s early appearances comes out this month, and I’d consider one for I– Spy. The internet wins for fan casting John Slattery as Faraday. Can’t believe no one has referenced the pun in his name.

    ∋) Joe Rubinstein couldn’t even save Infantino’s shabby Knights of the Galaxy. Shag, please stop using Comic Book DB as your reference site. They are seemingly always wrong. GCD shows the the Knights appeared in the first eight issues of Mystery in Space. I only know them from Howard Chaykin’s venomous mini-series Twilight, saved only by art of Praised Be His Name.

    ∏) I’ve always held Kobra in a regard disproportionate to his objective value. I was impressed at an early age by house ads, but I still firmly believe that any super-villain who carried their own book (especially pre-Chromium Age) deserves respect. I think the premise and design are great, but it seemed like Mike Barr was the only creator who tried to help Kobra build a name for himself. If I recall correctly, he received a Martial Arts rating of 10 in the Mayfair game, comparable to Bronze Tiger and a point above Batman, but that was only ever demonstrated in Outsiders. He was horrifically abused as a throwaway chump throughout the ‘90s, and no one seemed capable of redeeming him. Maybe the New 52 would do him good? Anyway, I want a color trade collecting the ’70s series. Make that happen.

    ∑) Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez sure shined up Kole, but no amount of polish could turn that lump into a diamond. One of those characters you know only existed because Marv Wolfman couldn’t figure out what to do with the Titans without Perez.

    √) I like Alfredo Alcala. Kong is Tarzan Clone #897.

    ∝) Shag did not coin the term boob window. It’s commonly used internet slang in relation to Power Girl’s costume.

    ∞) I think the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboots were exactly what DC needed for a fresh start in the late ’80s, and I think a complete reversal of Crisis featuring an amalgamated history for the multiverse was exactly what DC needed for a peace accord amongst aging fandom in the winter of the industry’s life 25 years later. Alternately, the New 52 should have had talented people starting from scratch like Julie Schwartz’s crew did in 1956, instead of a bunch of ex-Marvel hacks guiding DC’s tongue to a transformer. No really, sometimes it is better to fade away than to leave a corpse dangling from its belt in the closet with a bag over its head and its sticky flaccid pecker in its hand.

    ∴) Good Green Lantern song, but it’s about Hal Jordan, so I’m not allowed to like it.

    ≅) Stung!

    ⊕) The Who’s Who Podcast is definitively done for this month, but we’ll be back directorily with Volume x…

  17. Luke says:

    “√) I like Alfredo Alcala. Kong is Tarzan Clone #897″

    Well, given his youth, Kong is more of a Korak clone than a Tarzan one. I suppose one could make the argument that Korak himself is a Tarzan clone, so that would make Kong a copy of a copy, like that terrible Michael Keaton movie Multiplicity.

    Amazingly enough, during the time that Kong The Untamed was published (July ’75 – March ’76), DC also published Korak, Son Of Tarzan, which they picked up from Gold Key. That book changed it’s name to Tarzan Family with #60 (Nov/Dec ’75) and ran for 6 more mostly bi-monthly issues, ending in Dec ’76. Korak had been a 25 cent book, but Tarzan Family was a 50 cent book. I have a few issues of the title, and I dig it, as you get a nice mix of Burroughs characters and a cross-section of creators. #60, for instance, has Hal Foster and Russ Manning among it’s artists.

    I would also like to add that I, too, like Alfredo Alcala. He did lots of good work on DC Mystery books like House of Mystery, House of Secrets, and Weird War Tales, plus he did some of the early Masters of the Universe mini-comics (which were packed with the toys).

  18. Luke says:

    @Frank, I forgot to add: heck yeah, Hawkman versus Kalibak. Kalibak would mop the floor with him most likely, but “heck yeah” none the less.

    Kalibak is informed to me from 3 major sources and 1 minor source. 1) Kirby’s original New Gods book, where he is a complete badass. 2) Superfriends, where he is a goofball. 3) Superman: The Animated Series, where he is a Mid-Boss roadblock gatekeeper for his Big Bad Daddy. 4) His Super Powers toy, where HIS FREAKING ARM FELL BEHIND MY BROTHER’S HUTCH ARRRGH.

    As such I tend to like Kalibak and enjoy when he is protrayed as a major physical threat to guys like Superman. Hawkman recently had his hands full with the likes of Blockbuster and the Shaggy Man, so Kalibak rightly should outclass him in combat. The trick would be that the Winged Wonder would have to outflank and outsmart him, of course.

  19. Martin Gray says:

    @Luke ‘… they were however part of the “First…Then…Now!” print ad which is generally considered part of the early stages of the Explosion — that is, the increased publishing output from 1975 (’76 for Warlord), not the price and page increase’

    Generally among whom? ‘The DC Explosion’ was a specific promotion -I see what you’re saying, but it’s a stretch.

  20. Luke says:

    @Martin, I’ve long heard the build-up of new titles in 1975-76-77-78 (57 titles all told) considered part of the DC Explosion, since both the increased output and the page & price increase were all done under the first 5 years of Jenette Kahn’s leadership as part of DC’s concentrated effort to win back market share.

    Specifically, the Adventure/S&S books were done to go after Conan The Barbarian — a book which was winning market for Marvel which DC had no real property to compete with it. (DC still had nothing to counter Savage Sword, though!)

    Like I said, I have always heard those books — and the many other books launched in the middle of the decade — as part of the DC Explosion. I think it might be better stated to refer to it as part of DC’s “Explosion Era” of the mid-to-late-70s, rather than the “DC Explosion” proper, since like you said that was a specific promotion.

  21. rob! says:

    THE DC EXPLOSION IS TEARING US APART!

  22. Anj says:

    I know Alcala best from his inking of the Rick Veitch penciled Moore Swamp Thing and I thought he did very good work on those issues.

    I am a sucker for the early 70s DC Sword and Sorcery stuff as well. Siskoid, I don’t know if you got the Simone/Lopresti Wonder Woman arc where she teamed up with those guys (Beowulf, Stalker, and Claw) but it is worth it.

  23. Siskoid says:

    Comments on Frank’s Comments, since they’re like, their own companion show…

    (U) Yeah, Who’s Who in the Legion will be rough on Rob. Maybe by then I’ll have started blogging daily about the Legion, so Rob could vicariously experience the 30th century through that. #plug… I do hope you guys are fans of Impact Comics too.

    (R) Silver Age stories are full of flashbacks to Superbaby having adventures, not just in Smallville, but DURING THE TRIP TO EARTH. So he could already talk when he was sent off, and better than Sugar & Spike too.

    (L) You bring up a good point about the JSA HQ. How much COOLER would this page have been if it were a shot of their meeting room, made famous by various covers and splash pages?

    (∋) The GCDB is also my research center of choice, though I supplement it with other sites, usually the DC Wiki and the Unauthorized Chronology.

    (∏) Warning Frank! The first issue has art by Jack Kirby!

    (∞) Vivid imagery, as usual. It’s why I read these long-ass things to the end.

  24. Siskoid says:

    Anj: Not only did I read it, but I also wrote a Time Capsule on Beowulf because he was featured. I guess it’s the ancestor of Who’s This.
    http://siskoid.blogspot.ca/2009/03/time-capsule-translated-from-old.html

  25. Tim Wallace says:

    I gotta say…I liked Luke McDonnell’s stuff. Still do, especially on Suicide Squad, but yes, even the JLA and this entry.

    J. Wilbur Wolfingham…he looks like W.C. Fields on the cover, but that entry inside looks like Penguin and Telly Savalas had a child! Who loves you baby?

    As a side note…I recently came across my old DC Heroes RPG box, and several of the modules and source books…ah, the memories. I just scanned the Blue Beetle card for an upcoming post on my blog. If anyone’s looking for other character scans for their blogs let me know and I’ll do what I can!

  26. Martin Stein Returns says:

    Like “Nuclear Subs,” I’m pleased that “The Extraordinary” Jerry Ordway (in whatever order) seems to have entered the podcast lexicon.

  27. Anj says:

    Oops …

    Posted the review to #3 twice. Instead of 4 – here:

    http://dcbloodlines.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-beowulf-4.html

    Wait til we get to Stalker!

  28. Keith Samra says:

    I’m gonna have to side with Shagg on this one, “The Extraordinary” Jerry Ordway doesn’t sound as good as Jerry “The Extraordinary” Ordway!

  29. Keith Samra says:

    Y) I skipped Michael Bailey’s “Quest for Peace” commentary, but if he’s going to bat for that piece of crap, I might have to download it after all.

    Frank, did you know that the Nuclear Man in this film is the first live action representation of Firestorm? Sure their are those people out there that claim that this character was meant to be Bizarro, and Chris Reeve was going to play both parts… They are wrong! It’s Firestorm!
    Just ask Shagg! He will back me up on that!

  30. […] My buddies Shag and Rob covered this entry on their most excellent podcast Who’s Who: The Definitive Podcast of the DC Universe.  You can check out the episode J. Wilbur Wolfingham was featured in by clicking on this link. […]

  31. […] Flash appears in the twelfth Who’s Who Podcast […]

  32. Charlemagne says:

    Link to the Green Lantern song from the end of this episode!

  33. Xum Yukinori says:

    Regarding Kid Flash and the brown hair color change: that was NOT created in Who’s Who to explain so-called miscoloring mistakes (of which there were several). In The Flash v1 #138 (the first Kid Flash solo adventure after he received his new hair-revealing uniform in issue #135), it is shown that Kid Flash’s costume ring actually contained a “hair color spray feature” to change his hair color from red to brown as an additional identity safeguard (the link below is a panel from that story, which takes quite a bit of time to explain this feature to the reader while showing it in action – one has got to love those charmingly goofy silver age DC ideas and expositions).

    https://plus.google.com/photos/117051151818945442438/albums/5954910833004784705/5954910836256069810?pid=5954910836256069810&oid=117051151818945442438

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