Tales From The Basement: What Marvel Zombies Missed
I’m sure the phrase “Marvel Zombie” isn’t going to make readers (if there are any) of this blog scratch their heads and wonder what the heck it is to what I a refer. In a nutshell, if you were reading Claremont/Byrne X-Men, Miller Daredevil, Stern/Romita Jr. Spider-Man or any of the other fine Marvel comics being produced in the early 80s, chances are you were a Marvel Zombie.
If you were also unaware that DC Comics, First Comics, Comico, Aardvark-Vanaheim and Eclipse Comics were producing comics at that time, chances are you were a Marvel Zombie. This post will concentrate on a few of my favorite titles from this time that were produced by DC.
All-Star Squadron
I think this debuted in 1981. What I remember most about All-SS (can’t really abbreviate this one by it’s first letters, now can I?) is that it featured, introduced and/or re-introduced a lot of cool characters that you didn’t see all that often. Characters that have since become part of the DC canon. In my opinion, JSA writers/resurrectors James Robinson and Geoff Johns should have been thanking Roy Thomas in each and every issue of JSA.
You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Roy Thomas was the writer of this great series, and Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway were among it’s artists. The stories were classics – set during World War II, every issue oozed with authenticity. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn these comics were written in the 1940s. The Joe Kubert covers probably helped to promote this perception.
Roy Thomas was no dummy – he used a tried-and-true comic book trick by having the book cross over with the Justice League of America title, thereby guaranteeing exposure to a much larger audience. The good news is that the story was so good, even if you were not reading All-SS prior to that crossover, chances are you were afterwards.
What was most interesting to me is that Plastic Man was a pivotal character in this series. He was a federal agent of sorts who was sorta responsible for forming the team. I have always been bored by Plastic Man. I don’t think that the writers ever took him that seriously. And I keep hearing about how he is the most powerful character in the DC Universe, but I never see this. And I thought that Frank Miller (whose work I usually really like) made him look like a total doofus in the Dark Knight sequel.
Anyway, some of the cool characters we were treated to were Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Firebrand, Steel, Robotman, Tarantula, the Alan Scott Green Lantern, the Spectre, Baron Blitzkreig, Per Degaton, the Ultra-Humanite, Cyclotron and Hawkman just to name a few.
The best part of this series is that it doesn’t seem to have resonated with many people as it did with me. The stories are great and the art is great. If you are looking for a decent title to read that offers excellent team-oriented tales and a timeless storytelling style, go ahead and get some issues of All-SS. It compares very favorably to the Marvel output of it’s time.
In fact, I liked this title so much, I forgot that I had already written about how good it was.
Batman & The Outsiders
Nowadays, most people probably think the Outsiders is an original concept. And it kind of is – but it’s a derivative of the Batman & The Outsiders title that came about when Brave & Bold’s 200th and final issue came out. Batman quit the Justice League and formed the Outsiders – a team of mostly all new characters that would be led by Batman.
As if this concept wasn’t cool enough, it was written by longtime Batman Scribe Mike W. Barr (writer of the awesome Son of the Demon graphic novel) and drawn by long-longtime Batman artist Jim Aparo. From the getgo, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite all-time titles. Alan Davis became the artist in later issues.
The new characters were the sword-wielding Katana, the amnesiac Halo and the former prince Geo-Force. The established, but less used characters were Metamorpho and Black Lightning. The disparate characters were woven together expertly and Batman was convincing as the loner who suddenly wanted to lead a team.
Again, this title proved that good stories, good art and an understanding of your characters could work well to make a title that would hold up well more than 20 years later. Amazingly, these back issues also seem to have fallen through the cracks and can be had for a relatively small amount. But they’re worth the effort.
Firestorm
This character, who was first featured in the Justice League of America and as a backup in Flash, had two attempts at a solo title. The first was in the late 70s and that only went 5 issues, a casualty of the “DC Implosion” which saw a good number of DC’s titles killed in the late 70s.
The original 70s issues were written by the 3rd ever Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway and drawn by Al Milgrom. The second series, The Fury of Firestorm, was again written by Conway, but drawn by Pat Broderick.
It seemed to me that Conway was putting his take on Spider-Man, but calling it Firestorm. It read kinda like an updated version of the teen hero tales we were treated to when the original Amazing Spider-Man came out – interesting characters and pretty good adventures – and some cool villains to boot.
Ron Raymond went to school, dealt with a bully and graduated and went to college. The main differences were that Ron was popular, and the bully was the outcast, Ron was athletic (a basketball player) and he wasn’t a top academic student. These are the sorts of changes that were implemented in John Byrne’s Man of Steel miniseries and his subsequent Superman revamp, but I thought the concepts worked much better here.
More recent posts can be found on my new blog
Just two guys talkin’ Phillies baseball
From: Sj-hypocycloid
Subject: RE: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-friend
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 11:19 PM
awesome! it’s over – a 6-1 final! nice. And a mighty 12 pitch outing for Durbin. And the Mets beat Atlanta 6-4. Not sure if we should be happy about that or not. too bad they can’t both lose! Well, the result puts the Mets (11-13) in 3rd place and the Braves (11-14) in 4th, so all is well. Worst case scenario for the Phillies is the Marlins win, and the Phils are 1/2 game out. the Marlins are in extra innings (the 13th – go cincinnati)
No homers, and only five men left on base (and 10 for the Cards! nice to see a team other than the Phils doing that). All in all, not a bad night at all for the Phillies. Howard and Werth leading the way on offense – 4 for 7 combined with 6 ribbies. Gotta like it. And gotta hope that this pitching performance will start a trend!
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From: Sj-friend
Subject: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-hypocycloid
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 10:49 PM
dude, you moan too much about the pitching. it’s not the freakin’ 1970s anymore. deal with it! LOL. If these guys even tried to throw 300+ innings, their arms would fall off! Just enjoy the game. oh yeah, you can’t! 😉 well, enjoy listening.
And they’re into the 9th….and frakin’ Durbin is in now? wtf? come on! what happened to madson? maybe you’re right… LOL
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From: Sj-hypocycloid
Subject: RE: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-friend
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 10:40 PM
Hell yeah! Headin’ to the 9th! up 6-1 and eyre and madson with scoreless innings! I don’t know why they took eyre out. he threw a scoreless inning, for christs’ sake! 11 pitches! WTF? He’s a major league pitcher and he can’t throw more than 11 pitches??? I mean, yeah – madson threw seven to get his inning over and done with, but still….why not save madson for another day? Too many pitching changes!
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From: Sj-friend
Subject: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-hypocycloid
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 10:27 PM
Dude, you’re such a tool. Pujols is great….even if he is on roids. I noticed that your mvp struck out again. He must be leading the league again in that…does he have 200 yet? LOL
And Blanton! wow – I can’t believe he didn’t give up a homer! hardly any phils pitchers can say that. I think only moyer has a start that he didn’t yield a freakin’ longball! Looks like the Phils might be closing this one out soon.
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From: Sj-hypocycloid
Subject: RE: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-friend
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 10:21 PM
Dude, are you watching this? I’m so annoyed at comcast! They suck. All I can do is listen or keep checking espn.com. Holy crap! 6-1 and Pujols has been pretty quiet. 0-3 with a walk. That’s exactly what you gotta do.
And look at freakin’ blanton! 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks and only one earned run??? What’s up with that? Who cares? The Phils ‘pen can certainly use moreo f that! Nice. Werth and Howard went deep. Howard’s 4th of the season and a .293 batting average. If not for ‘roid man pujols, he’d be an mvp candidate! LOL way way too early for that kind of talk!
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From: Sj-friend
Subject: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-hypocycloid
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 1:13 PM
Yeah, that dude’s gott abe on roids! No way he could put up numbers like that without help. Or maybe he’s just that good. Just like A-Rod – ha! what a freaking cheater that dude is. A-Fraud is more like it.
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From: Sj-hypocycloid
Subject: RE: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-friend
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 11:49 AM
Yeah, the Cards are tough. But some people thought the Marlins were tough before the Phils swept ’em. And look at all the preseason prognosticators who picked the Mets, going on about their pitching, and forgetting that they were talking about Maine and Pelfrey! Who cares how good your bullpen is if you can’t get to it!
Look at the Phillies – they’re gonna wear that bullpen out by the All-Star break. They need to get someone to come in and eat up some innings. Not gonna be easy against the Cards, though. Pujols is having another monster year: .344, 9 homers, 29 ribbies, .460 OBP and .700 SLG. Can you say ‘roids’ ? LOL
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From: Sj-friend
Subject: RE: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-hypocycloid
Date: Monday, April 17, 2009, 11:56 AM
Yeah – 1-1. Way to go Phils! Who do they play tonight? The Cards? Man, that’s tough. They’re pretty good.
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From: Sj-hypocycloid
Subject: RE: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-friend
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 10:16 AM
Nice to see them winning some games now. And a winning April – that doesn’t happen every year. Glad they managed to get that win over the Mets. A walk with the bases loaded. That’s a demoralizing way to lose. Ha! Take that, Mets! After last freaking year, splitting with the Mets would be a bonus. They’re on their way at 1-1 LOL….
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From: Sj-friend
Subject: freakin’phillies
To: Sj-hypocycloid
Date: Monday, May 4, 2009, 9:41 AM
I agree with you totally that the Phillies pitching has been pretty wretched this year. Chan ho’s pitching friday was pathetic! I’d take don ho over that dude at this point.
Mad Libs, Phillies vs. Mets Style
The Phillies played a _______________ game against the New York Mets – a _______________ 7-4 loss. In the first inning, Chan Ho Park, who is a very _______________ pitcher, gave up a 2-run homer in the first inning, the 41st homer given up by the _______________ Phillies pitching staff.
Just when it seemed that Park would settle down, he went ahead and gave up 2 more _______________ runs in the second inning, adding insult to injury by allowing the _______________ pitcher, Mike _______________ Pelfry to drive in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Park continued on his wretched pace by giving up yet another _______________ run in the third inning, again on a sacrifice fly. This time, at least, it wasn’t a _______________ pitcher that drove in the _______________ run.
Just when _______________ was almost overtaking me, the Phillies roared to life and scored three runs in their half of the third inning. With the _______________ Raul Ibanez furthering his case for being named Phillies _______________.
Incredibly, Park had a _______________ fourth inning, somehow managing to not give up a run. But in the fifth inning, it was back to business, as the _______________ Mets scored another run on a _______________ David Wright single. 6-3 stood the score.
Then later in the fifth, _______________ Pelfrey singled, driving in yet another run. Mets 7, Phillies 3. Park’s _______________ night over, after 4 2/3 _______________ innings.
Curiously, the _______________ Mets did not score for the rest of the game, once the Phillies relievers took over. Could the Phillies chip away at this lead and stage one of their 8th or 9th inning comebacks?
Uh, no. Other than a solo Chase Utley home run in the 7th inning, the Phillies went out like lambs. Adding insult to _______________ injury, the Mets bullpen actually saved a _______________ game.
The only saving grace here is that the Marlins had already lost to the Cubs earlier in the day. But giving renewed hope to the _______________ Mets is not the best way to have started this _______________ _______________ weekend!!!
Now, the Phils need to grow a set of _______________ and win the next two. They need to smother that _______________ hope that they’ve given to the _______________ Mets…and quickly. Or they could be looking back at this _______________ game and thinking about what could have _______________ been.
Andy Blank
Mike Frangione
Depends on What the Meaning of the Word 'Blog' is 
ESPN Scooped! News Related To Brett Favre "Retirement" That You Will Only Read About Here
Madden out of retirement!
That’s right folks. Now that Brett Favre (TM) has indicated that he may be returning to the NFL, John Madden has indicated he will return to broadcasting. However, he has stated that he will only be available to broadcast Minnesota Vikings games…or “whatever freaking team Favre winds up on this time,” the great broadcaster was quoted as saying. “There’s no better quarterback than Brett Favre (TM).”
Madden 2010 – Discontinued If No Favre
Spokespeople for John Madden have indicated that Mr. Madden is prepared to sit out the 2010 gaming season if Brett Favre (TM) remains retired. “We just can’t see the point of even having the game available if the greatest living football ambassador will not even be available to shill the game,” the gaming genius said in a statement. No word from the Favre camp on rumors that Brett Favre (TM) was insisting that the game – and certain key elements of the game – would have to be modified if Favre were to be expected to continue to lend his likeness to the game. No details were available at press time.
All-Madden Team Now Will Be All-Favre Team
Brett Favre (TM) is taking over! CBS has announced that even if Madden comes out of retirement, the All-Madden team will cease to be. But fear not, sports fans! It will be replaced with the newer, hipper All-Favre (TM) team! CBS spokesman Al Michaels told us that “it was time for a change. I mean really – the All-Madden team? Everyone knows if it weren’t for Brett Favre (TM), there would be no All-Madden team.”
Steve Madden to market new footwear, called the Favre
A Google search reveals this about Steve Madden’s product lines: “With enough attitude for even the sassiest fashion diva and the most discriminating and stylish men…” and he means it. What you won’t find in your search, however is that Madden (Steve) and Brett Favre (TM) are in talks to release a new shoe called “The Favre.”
It will be available in stylish green and white (no, it’s not Yellow! bellows the high quality catalog (printed on recyclable paper, of course)), with shoelaces that have every NFL teams colors on them (just in case). The shoes will cost $44 each and will come with a cool sticker that has a Calvin & Hobbes-like drawing of #4 peeing on a Green Bay Packer helmet.
But you must act quickly, as the shoe will be retired at the end of this NFL season. Or…will it? 😉 Mr. Madden (Steve) was not available for comment.
Wrangler vs. Lee
Brett Favre (TM) has released a statement saying he will be retiring from the business of advertising jeans. It was reported last fall that Favre felt that “that ship had sailed.” Relations between Favre and Wrangler were strained when it was reported in “Retire?” magazine that a highly placed Wrangler executive was photographed wearing a #4 Packer replica jersey at a golf outing. Favre was reportedly so upset that he couldn’t even focus on retiring during his tenure with the Jets and accidently played the whole 16-game schedule.
What you didn’t hear in “Retire?” magazine was that the Favre camp have been in talks with the Lee Jeans Company since August 2008, trying to convince the devil-may-care Favre to jump ship and schill Lee Jeans. Word outta Kiln is that the two sides are very close to announcing a deal! Watch this space…
There’s Something about Mary – Favre Wants Famous Scene To Be Removed
Astonishing, isn’t it? The hilarious scene that proved once and for all that nobody really knew how to pronounce the name Brett Favre (TM) is to be excised from the film “There’s Something About Mary” and will be used in the next Judd Apatow film. Mr. Apatow had no comment. Favre did, but it was nothing you haven’t heard before. He just used a comment he’d made after a 2003 Packers/Bears game, and simply changed a few nouns and verbs to describe this bombshell.
When we hear more, you can be sure you’ll hear it here first!
Brett Favre (TM) Reportedly Wants “revenge” on Green Bay
Yes, Yahoo reported that Brett Favre (TM) is seeking re-entry to the NFL to gain revenge on the team that made his career possible in the first place. His plan is simple – he will tire out the Green Bay secondary by throwing six “pick six” interceptions in first half of each Viking/Packer game, thereby enabling All-Pro running back Adrian Petersen more room to run. Head Coach Brad Childress bristled when a reporter asked him if even Petersen could overcome a 42-0 first half defecit by himself.