'Ghosts' - The Corpse Corps!



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Yes folks, as you may be aware of by now, I am the grand architect of this insipid plot to strike terror into your hearts by forcing you to relive the horrors the DC heroes had to face in the 1998 'Ghosts' Annuals. From Aquaman's encounter with the ghost of Arthur Jr. to Wonder Woman's amazonian smack down against some cyclopes and the goddess of comedy (yeah) and everything in between, we DC character(s) bloggers have united to bring you the best (and worst) of our respective characters encounters with all things supernatural. For a majority of us, that means focusing in on the 1998 'Ghosts' cross over that took place in DC's annuals. For others, that just means hunting down our favorite supernatural story featuring out characters. The only rule? 'Blackest Night' doesn't count. It's just too easy. Don't get me wrong Geoff, it's amazing stuff, but we wouldn't be endeared to our readers if we took the easy way out.



For myself? I'm taking on the duty of showcasing to you 'Green Lantern' Annual #7. Tastefully titled 'The Corpse Corps', this lovely 48 page issue was written by Steve Vance with art by Ron Lim. Inking duties were handled by Doug Hazelwood and Kim Demulder, while Jason Wright handled coloring and Janice Chiang handled the lettering. Assistant Editor and Editor credits went to Chuck Kim and Kevin Dooley respectively.

Our story opens in California with the last Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, streaking through the sky and reflecting on his career. He stumbles upon a massive wreck on the interstate involving multiple cars and an overturned tanker truck. Kyle rushes to work prying people from the mangled remains of their vehicles when suddenly the flamable material in the tanker truck spills out and ignites, causing a massive explosion.

So just WHO is this mystery Green Lantern who just saved Kyles bacon? Is it Hal? (At this point, it's important to realize that Hal Jordan is back in the picture. It's an innocent past version of Hal that hasn't yet destroyed the Corps or taken on the mantle of Parallax. It's complicated.) When the smoke clears we see that it isn't Hal Jordan but his predecessor Abin Sur! But Abins dead! How can this be?

Abin explains to Kyle that he knows he is supposed to be dead and that he has no idea why he his back but he knows that others who have passed are "returning from the afterlife here on Earth." Kyle immediately thinks back to Alex DeWitt, his first girlfriend who was brutally murdered by Major Force and stuffed into a refrigerator when Kyle first took on the mantle of Green Lantern. As he tries to take off to check on her, Abin stops him and tells him he must set aside his personal feelings and try and find the source of the resurrections. Abins ghost fades away and Kyle takes off towards his apartment to charge up before heading out into space.

After his recharge, Kyle zips out of the Galaxy towards the energy that his ring is sensing. As he gets closer and closer to the source, suddenly the space around him lights up in emerald energy and Kyle erects a shield to protect himself. When the light fades, Kyle is suddenly face to face with the resurrected Green Lantern Mogo, a "living" planet. Kyle touches down on Mogo's reconstituted surface and begins checking the place out. He isn't there long when suddenly the ground begins to split open.

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As the living corpses of Green Lanterns long dead (Chaselon, Kilowog, Tomar-Re) begin attacking Kyle, Kilowog starts to blame Kyle for the death of the Corps. Kilowog plays exposition fairy briefly explaining to the reader that, during Kyles trip back in time, he could have warned the GL's that Hal was going to go bonkers and kill everyone, but he didn't. As Kyle trys to explain himself, he's suddenly blasted in the back by another Green Lantern. As Kyle gets to his feet, he realizes that he's now facing Dara, the former Green Lantern that Kyle had run into back in 'Green Lantern' #56. (after 'Zero Hour') As Kyle desperately tries to figure out what to do and why they're all after him, suddenly the big bad for this issue is revealed.

That's right kiddos, Nekron "Lord of the Unliving" makes his presence known to Kyle for the first time. You see, Nekron once went up against Hal and the Corps a long time ago using Krona and a few undead souls as his patsy's. But Kyle hasn't heard that story so he flies head first through the rift in space and into Nekrons dimension. Big mistake. Confronting the master of the dead on his home turf is definitely not a good idea but thankfully Nekron is in a talkative mood as he decides to tell Kyle of his first encounter with the Corps (the story I just mentioned). This gives Kyle enough time to focus his energy and break out of Nekrons grasp and back into the "real world". Kyle suddenly realizes the only thing keeping the rift in space open to Nekrons dimension is the reanimated Green Lanterns. Kyle musters his resolve and does what he must, slaughter all of the reanimated Green Lanterns, constantly reminding himself that they're already dead. All of the fighting culminates into one grand epic battle with Kilowog as he slams himself and Kyle down into the surface of Mogo. The size of their battle destabilizes the planet and Kyle decides to let the planet collapse in on itself with himself and Kilowog within the surface. Kilowog comes to his senses long enough to thank Kyle for doing what needs to be done and Mogo explodes...again.

That poor planet. First he died, then he was brought back for this annual only to be destroyed again. Then he was brought back again...only to be destroyed by John Stewart during the 'War of the Green Lanterns'. This poor planet can't catch a freakin break. Anyways, Kyle flies out of the debris of Mogo to see Nekrons rift rapidly closing as Nekron claims, "I merely seized the opportunity! Some OTHER power revived the Green Lanterns, creating the anomaly!" Unfortunately we'll have to wait for the Justice League 'Ghosts' annual to see what power he is talking about. Kyle zips back to earth to the grave site of Alex and resolves to start living his life to the fullest like she would have and be the best person he can be, not being held back by his past or doubting himself. And that's where things end.

All in all this book was a solid entry in the 'Ghosts' annual event. The tone of the book didn't really differ all that much from the tone of the regular ongoing series Kyle was in at the time so it fit seamlessly into the storyline as Kyles book focused on the time displaced Hal Jordan for a few issues. It made a nice side story to explain where Kyle was during all of the Hal stuff.

For this blog cross over though I decided it wouldn't be fair of me to request all of my blogger friends to participate if I wasn't going to go above and beyond the request myself. So I reached out to a few friends of mine for some special content to contribute.

First I reached out to my friend Mike Gallagher. Mike is a comic artist who has recently done work on quite a few books. Mike stepped up to the plate and brought to me this beautiful rendition of Zombie Dara! Check it out! Be sure to see some of Mikes work with 'Annabelle Avery: Steampunk Girl' or visit his deviant art page!

I also reached out to a friend of 'The Lanterncast!'. For those of you not aware, I co-host a podcast dedicated to Green Lantern called 'The Lanterncast!'. You can follow the link above or look us up on iTunes or Stitcher to listen in! We've been going strong for nearly four years and have interviewed plenty of people. One of those individuals we've had the fortune of speaking with is the artist responsible for the design of Parallax, the design of Kyle Rayner and so many other things in the Kyle Rayner run, Darryl Banks. Darryl was gracious enough to throw his hat into the ring and submitted a gorgeous commission of zombie Abin! If you'd like to see more of Darryl's work, be sure to check out his gallery on 'Comic Art Fans' or check him out at Akron Comic Con on Saturday, November 10th in the Akron University Student Union Ballroom in Akron, Ohio!

Thanks to both guys for the AMAZING submissions! I'm proud to be acquainted with such amazing people in this industry that I'm so fond of! Not to mention people who are just genuinely excited about the work and happy to share their love of the medium!

But that's not all dear reader! I didn't just stop there for my entry in this blog cross over insanity. No sir! This past weekend happened to be Wizard World Austin Comic Con here in my hometown of Austin, Texas. The Wizard World team was gracious enough to grant me a press pass to the event for the second year in a row and I got a ton of interviews for the podcast. One interview however, won't be making it's way onto the air and will ONLY be here!

I interviewed legendary comics creator/artist Bernie Wrightson! Bernie is credited with a great many things an has worked in the comics industry for years. For the purposes of this blog cross over, Bernie is responsible for each and every one of the covers for the 'Ghosts' annual series. Bernie took the time out to speak with me for awhile and what follows is the entirely of that conversation. Enjoy!

Corps Conjecture: Hi Bernie, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. Getting right into it, how did you get into comics in the first place?

Bernie Wrightson: Well first I went up to the offices at Marvel with a bunch of samples. I talked to someone up there, I can't really remember who, and showed them a few samples of my work and everything. They were very nice but they told me to go home and draw some of their characters which I wasn't really interested in doing, so I never followed up on that. About a year later, I went to a convention in New York and met Jeff Jones and Mike Kaluta and all of us got together and went to meet Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano and Joe Orlando and all of us showed them our work. They were very nice and very encouraging. I went home and a month or two later I got a call from Kaluta who told me that Carmine Infantino and Joe Orlando were trying to reach me to talk to me about work. Just based on that thin thread I moved to New York and went up to DC and started working on comics and then really got started with Joe Orlando on 'House of Mystery'.

CC: With things like 'House of Mystery' and Swamp Thing on your credits you seem to have a passion for drawing the creepy and the monsters. Did you have a love for horror when you were growing up?

BW: Yeah I was always attracted to that. I grew up watching old Universal monster movies on TV or reading EC Comics with 'Tales from the Crypt' or 'The Haunt of Fear'. I just loved horror stories. I love scary stories.

CC: I would imagine that as a kid you had a chance to read the original EC books before the Senate Subcommittee Trials on Juvenile Delinquency or something like the Comics Code came into effect.

BW: I did. I was right there in the early to mid 50s buying the stuff right off the newsstands.

CC: Did that particular moment in comics history effect your “fandom”? Or were you old enough to notice the change and see the effects in the books you were reading?

BW: Not really. For me they were just comic books and I was only a kid. I never really thought about it, I just figured they'd always be there. Then suddenly they disappeared and you just couldn’t find them anymore. I already had a taste of that and it led me to Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft and I still kept on going to the movies all those great science fiction movies of the 1950's.

CC: You are credited with co-creating Swamp Thing. Is that correct?

BW: Yes, with Len Wein. Len was the writer, it was Lens idea and it was his creation and I visualized it. We were just partners and collaborators on that.

CC: With just that one characters ongoing history, with Alan Moores later involvement and his treatment in DC's New 52 by Scott Snyder, what does it feel like to be such a contributing factor to such a huge part of comics history?

BW: Oh boy who would have thought you know? It surprised me and it really took on a life of it's own. I never really followed it much after I left the series. I saw some of what Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette and John Totleben and all those guys were doing with it. It was terrific stuff, it was great. They took it in a whole new direction, stuff that I would have never thought off.

CC: I've spoken to creators in the past who stopped reading a book they were directly involved with after they left the title because, in their mind, they've already done the version of the character that they visualize and anything else is just not how they “see the character”. Did you actively not read Swamp Thing?

BW: It was never anything like that with me. By that time I was just too busy drawing comics to have time to read them. It wasn't just that I stopped reading Swamp Thing, I just stopped reading comics altogether. I would look at them occasionally but it wasn't like before I was involved professionally.

CC: After you left DC you went to Warren Publishing. Why the change?

BW: The big reason I went to Warren was that he was paying better than anyone else. When I left DC I was making $65 a page which wasn't bad, it was actually pretty good money. Warren came along and offered me $110 a page and told me I could keep my originals. That was a big deal. None of the other publishers were letting artists keep their originals, that was just part of the deal at that time. I liked the work I was doing and I really hated to give up the originals and that had been bothering me for a couple of years. So when Warren came along it was a really good deal and I went to work for him.

CC: Let's fast forward a good few years. Eventually you made your way back to DC, mostly as a cover artist. That's when this job came about in 1998 when they did the 'Ghosts' annual crossover theme and they had you back to do the covers for each annual issue. How did that job come about?

BW: That was basically just a job you know? They told me that these were compilations of ghost stories involving all of these different characters. I guess I had the reputation of being the supernatural artist or whatever you want to call it. So they offered and I took the job. I never had an interest in drawing superheroes. It sounds kinda funny but I never really believed in superheroes. I had a really hard time believing in people with superpowers or mutants or people shooting rays out of their eyes. It all seemed kind of silly to me. But I never had a problem believing in vampires, werewolves and the walking dead and such.

CC: So when they approached you this was it. The only time you would ever probably feel comfortable drawing superheroes would be if they were going up against zombies or ghosts or some sort of other supernatural creature.

BW: Basically yeah. I had done some superhero stuff in the past. In the 80's I did a mini-series called 'The Cult' with Jim Starlin which was a Batman story. I always liked Batman. I think its because Batman didn't have any super powers. He was just a guy. If someone beat him up, he'd get cuts and bruises. He wasn't invulnerable like Superman. Superman is a great character but he just isn't real to me.

CC: Out of the 'Ghosts' series, were any of those character covers your favorite?

BW: I don’t really have any favorites. To be honest, they all kind of melt together for me. Nothing in that particular series really stands out.

CC: As a Green Lantern fan I do enjoy that particular one. I love seeing this new Green Lantern in the form of Kyle Rayner go up against the classic silver age zombie Green Lanterns, particularly Tomar-Re. That was quite a treat.

BW: Green Lantern was one of those characters I never really followed that much. The only time I ever read it was when Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil were doing them in the 70's with Green Arrow. I kinda got caught up in that because I've always been such a fan of Neal. Also the stories were great. They were really ground breaking and daring for their time and it was just drawn so realistically.

CC: I may be young but I’m a big lover of comics history and those stories are very humanizing you know? A lot of those issue that Green Lantern and Green Arrow faced couldn't be overcome with superpowers.

BW: That’s what drew me to that. It was just these guys with all these powers just questioning their own place in the world and that was a very intriguing idea. Just seeing these guys be just as helpless as the rest of us in dealing with these issues you know?

CC: Definitely. I re-read it once or twice a year for that reason alone. I love that series.

BW: It's great stuff. I guess it started with Marvel and Spider-man. So much of that early stuff concentrated on Peter Parker and his day to day life and how does he reconcile being a kid who’s still going to school and trying to find a job and who is still trying to be a superhero at the same time? Then Green Lantern and Green Arrow came along and took that idea and really launched it into the stratosphere. How does a superhero fit into the real world? What can Green Lantern really do to make the lives of minorities and poor people better? They cant really use their powers.

CC: Before I let you go I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for what you've contributed to this industry that myself and fans all over love so much. With not just your contributions to DC or this particular 1998 series crossover but with everything you did for the industry as a whole. I just wanted to thank you for your contribution to all of this history.

BW: That’s very nice of you to say. I've been very very lucky. I’ve had a really terrific career and mostly just had so much fun doing this stuff. Maybe it sounds kinda selfish but I'm doing all of this stuff first and foremost for myself just because I love the work so much. Its really kind of magical to me that so many other people seem to enjoy it.

So there you have it folks. A review, some special art submissions and an exclusive interview with Bernie Wrightson! Hopefully you enjoyed this particular post. It sure was lengthy and alot of work, but it was ALOT of fun. As always, don't forget to subscribe to Corps Conjecture and comment on the post! And DON'T FORGET to check out the other blogs participating in the cross over! Happy Halloween!!!

• "Ghosts" @ The Aquaman Shrine
• "Bough Breaks" @ Batman: Gotham Knights Online
• "Swamp Thing's Ghost Dance" @ The BLOG from the BOG - Swamp Thing
• "Seeing Ghosts" @ Boosterrific
• "Life Itself" @ Captain's JLA Homepage
• "Ragman - Ripped to Shreds!" @ The Suit of Souls
• "What Creeps Out The Creeper?" @ DC Bloodlines
• "The Distance Gone" @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• "Shoe Shine.. Back from the Dead" @ Firestorm Fan
• "The Death Sentence" @ Great Krypton!
• "Happy Halloween" @ I Am The Phantom Stranger
• Martian Manhunter in "Heart's Afire" @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• "Legend of Driq" @ Indigo Tribe
• The Vixen in "Role Model" @ Justice League Detroit
• "Ghosts" @ Power of the Atom
• The Spectre in "Zor" @ Siegel & Shuster: Mythmakers
• "High-Speed Hauntings" @ Speed Force

A Lengthy NYCC Recap...

Hey loyal readers! Well, I hope you are at least. Anyhow, I’m sorry for the delay. I told you from the inception of this blog that it wouldn’t be one with frequent posts, but hopefully the content I DO post is enough to keep you interested.

I recently got back from New York Comic Con 2012! Holy crap it was a whirlwind trip. If you’re a listener of ‘The Lanterncast!’ you know that I’ve wanted to go to New York City for many years (wanting to be a journalist will do that to you). So when the opportunity arose I had to take the leap. Unfortunately, the PR crew working for NYCC isn’t as awesome as the guys from Wizard World and I didn’t get approved for a Press Pass. I guess a strictly Green Lantern based podcast isn’t really worth their time. Never mind the fact that Geoff Johns, Dan DiDio, Joe Staton, Dario Brizuela, Ethan Van Sciver, Scott Kolins, Ivan Reis and many, many more were there. But I digress…

So I left on Thursday October 11th, 2012 for New York Comic Con. My American Airlines flight was cramped and, unfortunately, I didn’t think ahead enough to load up my iPod with movies, so I was rather bored during the non-stop flight to John F. Kennedy Airport. I got acquainted during the flight with a nice younger couple on their way to a wedding. The husband happened to be a geek himself and, as most people who figure out I’m a Green Lantern fan wonder, asked me what my thoughts on the Green Lantern movie were. After I hemmed and hawed in disappointment with him over the Emerald Crusaders first foray onto the silver screen, we de-boarded the plane and I began my trek to the baggage pickup. I won’t bore you with the details of getting my luggage and my epic journey to discover exactly how I was supposed to get from JFK Airport to Penn Station.

When I finally got off the train into Penn Station and walked up the steps onto the streets of New York City, I immediately ran into a sea of people. I expected that, what I didn’t expect was immediately becoming totally disenfranchised with the notion of such a large city. All I could think about was, “Holy crap my back is killing me! Where the hell is my hotel?!” So I found an NYPD officer and asked if he knew where it was. To my surprise, the officer merely pointed right across 7th avenue. There stood Hotel Pennsylvania, my home for Thursday and Friday night. So I walked through the doors, checked in and plopped down onto one of the rock solid beds in a vain attempt to alleviate the pain in my upper back.

After about an hour or so, I collected myself and walked out onto the streets of New York City with one of my roommates, Mike, to begin a quest for a liquor store. It was when I left the hotel that first time that I finally started noticing things about the city. Madison Square Garden was RIGHT across the street, just above Penn Station (news to me). The Empire State Building was around the corner from my hotel and down a block. And, of course, there were people…EVERYWHERE. It takes some getting used to. In Austin, that amount of people in the streets usually means Austin City Limits or SXSW but in New York City, apparently that’s just normal. 

We never did find a damn liquor store, but I did scarf down some McDonalds the second I got a chance (first thing I had eaten since my flight took off earlier that morning). We went back to the Hotel and spent some time bullshitting about comics and what to expect at the convention as we waited on our other roommate Matt to get back from the preview night at the convention. After he got back (and rubbed his swag in our faces) we went right back out and made a beeline for Times Square (apparently just up the street a few blocks).

As I was preparing for my trip, a co-worker of mine informed me that I should probably stay away from Times Square as it’s nothing more than a tourist trap. Well my friends that is utter nonsense. Times Square is awesome, especially when you grow up in a town that doesn’t have attractions like that. Really all I did was take a look around, but I stepped inside the Toys R Us for a few minutes to determine if my inner child still existed (he does, I’m happy to report).

On our way back to the hotel from Times Square we FINALLY found a liquor store, I bought myself a small bottle of Jack Daniels and we stopped by a pizza place right next to our hotel. New York style pizza is delicious by the way.

On Friday I made my way to the convention with my two roommates and, after we stopped for breakfast, I stepped foot into New York Comic Con for the first time.

It’s huge guys. As in massive. No seriously. Look…

That’s just PART of the lobby.

But I made a beeline for the Comic Geek Speak booth to say hi to Adam Murdough and Bryan Deemer, swung by the Neal Adams booth to get his signature on my copy of ‘Green Lantern/Green Arrow’ #85 (he was charging $10 for one signature, RIDICULOUS) then met a long time listener of the Lanterncast, Edgar Rios.

Edgar and I met up in the middle of the DC booth. After a minute or two, Edgar asked me if I wanted to meet Dan DiDio (publisher of DC Comics) so I said yes and got a picture with him and got him to sign my copy of ‘The Phantom Stranger #0’. I thought that was it but no. Dan and I ended up having a five minute conversation about Phantom Stranger out of nowhere. Not at a table, not in any official capacity, just talking randomly in the middle of the con floor about Phantom Stranger (one of my favorite DC characters).

Later on I met my co-host Dan Kurtzke in Artist Alley to connect with people and set up interviews for Sunday. I picked up my commission from Adam Withers of Shadow Lass from the Legion of Superheroes and got on the list for a commission from Scott Kolins.

Saturday I met my friend Amanda for breakfast down near the World Trade Center site and went with her and her friends to a bar near the Empire State Building called ‘Stouts’ to watch the Red River Rivalry game between the University of Texas and Oklahoma University. (we lost, badly) With plans to meet up with the group later on in Central Park, I left to check into my next hotel. And then everything went to hell. My bank charged me for a payment I told them to postpone so, for a few hours, I was without a place to stay in a place several hundred miles from my home. I was freaking out. BIG time. But everything worked itself out eventually and I finally checked in to my room and plopped down on the bed and watched TV, desperately trying to calm myself down. Because of my newly confused monetary state, I couldn’t meet my friends as I had planned but I was glad to hang with them as much as I did.

Later that night I went to a bar called ‘Stitch’ and met up with my friends Amber Love and Ashley. After drinks and craziness galore I finally got back to my hotel to go to sleep so I could be ready for the final day of New York Comic Con.



Sunday consisted mostly of walking around with my co-host Dan and conducting various interviews with creators and getting contact information for those we weren’t able to interview. The episode covering all of that content will be available on our podcast website and iTunes soon so keep your eyes on the feed. While I was there I picked up a print by Katie Cook and my commission of Solomon Grundy from Scott Kolins. I also made an appearance with Dan on the Fire and Water podcast!

After the Con, Dan and I made our way to New Jersey to his house where I spent the night before my flight back home the next morning. Thanks definitely go out to Dan and his family for putting me up that night and arranging my ride to the airport the next morning, especially Dan’s mother.

On the plane ride home I kicked back and watched ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ for the duration of the flight.

All in all it was a great time. I didn’t get to see as much of the city as I wanted to, but at least I got to have fun and see my friends that I planned on seeing. And hey, now I have the lay of the land so my NEXT trip to NYC won’t be so hectic! Sorry for the length of the post, I just had a lot of people that wanted a detailed account of the trip, especially considering I’ve wanted to go to NYC for so long. I promise I’ll have a much shorter post of the Austin Comic Con recap…lol

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe and comment!

The Deeds of a Supergod...

(Covers to Action Comics #385 - #387)

I want to depart briefly from the typical content of this blog. As you're probably aware, this isn't going to have a thing to do with Green Lantern or theories on the various related series going forward. But bear with me because I've been wanting to cover these three issues of 'Action Comics' for a long time. It started about two years ago when I saw all three of these issues in the bagged and boarded back issues bins at my local comic shop Austin Books and Comics. I was JUST heavily getting into comics but I knew enough about the industry to know that, for comics from 1970, having single issues back to back with a continuing storyline was unusual. But ABC had those issues priced at roughly $15 an issue and each time I wandered into the shop, I decided against it until, about a month ago, I found them in their discount store (called the 'Sidekick') for $5 an issue. And now you get to enjoy the fruits of my good fortune with the AMAZINGNESS that these three issues contain within their pages.

The storyline opens the random-est of meetings between the Man of Steel and the Leader of the Free World...

 

(Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans Superman...)

Of course, as with any good story from the early 1970's, if you start off this way then you HAVE to go the exact opposite route for the remainder of the story. Suddenly and out of nowhere, outside of the Fortress of Solitude, a giant metal hand appears and begins burning a message into the door of the Fortress. The alarms begin to clang at a frequency only the Man of Tomorrow can hear and he speeds out of the White House and to his Fortress. The message reads, "Superman your help is urgently needed in year 101,970 coordinates x78-543/20." And Superman confirms this information with a quick scan of the metal hand with his microscopic vision and noticing that the metal alloy that makes up the hand is "not yet discovered in 1970!" And so Superman finds himself at an impasse. So he decides the only way to not break his promise to the President AND still answer this futuristic cry for help is to take a faulty Time Bubble to the future...

(What do those kids from the future know about time travel anyways?)

So Superman ignores the sign, the warnings of his experienced time traveling friends and his own better judgement and takes the Time Bubble hurtling into the far future. Everything seems just fine until...

(Who could have possibly known?!)

Superman quickly gets over his rapid aging and gets down to business. Apparently he's been called to the future because the monetary reserve which houses over fifty trillion dollars worth of currency, has been broken into repeatedly and no one can seem to figure out how. So Superman agrees to be locked within the vault for a 12 hour cycle to discover who or what is stealing the money from the vault and how they're going about it. After a few hours, Superman suddenly sees something in the Pulsato-Energi fence (one of the vaults many security measures)...

(Umm, WHAAAA?!)

After narrowly escaping defeat, Superman hides in the rest of the Energi fence and waits out the creature as it consumes a large amount of money then disappears. Finally the 12 hour cycle is over and the vault opens again. Superman explains quickly that he found the 'thief' and needs some supplies quickly before the vault closes again. Befuddled, they comply and Superman goes to work in the vault with his 'paint-atomizer' on the currency in the vault and, locked inside once more waits for the creature to appear. Suddenly the creature appears and begins to consume money again and then randomly explodes as Superman explains, "I noticed it consumed only currency that was red, yellow, or orange -- the warm pigments of the color spectrum! I guessed that by tricking it into eating blue money -- one of the cool colors -- I'd 'poison' the thing! So I sprayed yellow paint on several types of blue coins!" With the threat neutralized, Superman begins to head back home in his Time Bubble when suddenly...

(Invisible Time Barriers are a bitch...)

Oh noes! Superman is stuck in the FUTURE! So, what the hell, why not do a little sight seeing? So he flies down to Earth and does a little sight seeing where he is suddenly attacked by almost everyone, so he hides. As he's hiding he sees a 'Wanted' billboard for 3 criminals dressed in his costume so, to avoid further attack, he zips into a museum and hides as a statue dressed in the 'traditional' wear of the 1970's. Suddenly the futuristic heroes known as the Multiple-Men show up and 'gift' superman with one power each using a gas. Superman passes out and wakes up in the 'observation pit' surrounded by doctors and scientists of the future...

(Suicidal Superman can no longer die...)

And the first issue ends there, but the craziness hasn't even BEGUN until the next issue brings us back into the story...

(Super Boredom!)

In a feat of sheer awesomness, Superman, between last issue and this one, got SUPER bored and decided to go hurtling even FURTHER into the future because, well why not? But as the Action Ace (a name for Superman that has now become my favorite) enters the even more futurey future Metropolis than the future Metropolis of last issue, he is apprehended and brought before the 'central-control complex' because he was caught using super powers in the city. As Superman asks why he is disallowed from using his powers, he is told a story of a super team trio called the Naurons who eventually gave way to infighting between the two male members of the team over the affections of the female member. As a result of their super fighting they wrecked the earths atmosphere and the rest is history. Superman agrees to comply with the edict of the future Metropolis and goes touring the city and checks the future 'Daily Planets' records to know what happened to Lois, Jimmy and Perry. On his way out of the Daily Planet, he spots a hover-vehicle going out of control and realizes he must break the law and save the occupants. As he leaps into the air he is instantly apprehended. As he protests, he is shown why his interference isn't needed in the first place...

(Automatic De-Solidifiers, what would we do without them?)

As punishment for breaking the law yet again, he is sent to the retirement planet of Diodn where he meets other retired super heroes who are no longer needed. But, three days later, the Mayor of Metropolis visits the planet to recruit the retired heroes to save the city. First the retirees are against it until Superman, whom they idolize, steps up and rally's them to help. As they fly to Metropolis they soon discover what the issue is...

(Super Deeds!)

After acquiring all of the elements he needs, Superman plays super smithy and forges an 'ultra-strong' metal alloy to cover the silo and, as it begins to explode, he spirals it up and out into space, thus saving Metropolis from certain doom. The issue comes to an end as the retired heroes wait for Superman to return...

(Super Emo...)

As Superman continues to drift through space and time, the final issue of this series opens with Kal-El coming upon five astronauts floating in frozen suspended animation. Typically, Superman would know just what to do in this situation, but he decides to take a different approach...

(You know, if you can risk a trip through the sun for the purposes of excitement, why not?)

So, the superbly bored Superman, decides that saving people in the usual methods are also boring, so he decides to take them on a trip through the nearest Rainbow sun. Anyone would have really. As the astronauts awake to see Superman, he informs them they have been stuck in suspended animation for over 5,000 years. As they begin to ask Superman where he's been for over 8,000 CENTURIES (yeah, that's how far he is into the future apparently) Superman get's annoyed with their questions, flies away, crashes the nearest ship so they'll find the astronauts, then decides to hurtle even further into the future...

(Why indeed?)

As Superman slows his crazed acceleration into the future, he comes upon Earth. Only Earth is now deserted and dead, every natural resource used up. Coincidentally, he has arrived just as two GIGANTIC robots from the 'Galactic Sanitation Department' approach the planet to dispose of it. (yeah) After Superman gets rid of the robots, he begins his biggest and most ridiculous feat yet...the feat of playing God...LITERALLY...

(Step One: Cut planet in half, Step Two: Super breathe on planet...)

(Add some rain, plants and animals...)

(Finally, kidnap and displace the nearest humanoid alien life-form...)

Suddenly a killer drone that has been circling the universe for centuries attacks Superman. Apparently this drone was sent out by a dying Lex Luthor who created it to absorb his consciousness, thus allowing him to live forever in the hopes that he could avenge himself on Superman someday. As Superman's unconscious body drifts through space, a robot finds him and revives him. Superman immediately seeks out the drone for round two, knowing a second encounter will kill him and even hoping it will. In the process, Superman get's swept even further into the future, his consciousness slipping back into various times of his past, reliving his childhood on Krypton and his boyhood in Smallville. Suddenly he finds himself back in the Fortress of Solitude...

(Super bullshit...)

And we have reached the end of this three issue arc of lunacy. It was a LONG re-cap but my GOD was it worth it. I've NEVER read such Superman insanity in my life so far and I'm SO happy this was my first experience with the legendary Superman nonsense storytelling from the 1970s. Oh I cannot wait for more!

Hope you enjoyed this long escape from my Green Lantern theories. This story was too amazing to pass up. Don't forget to follow the blog and comment! Thanks!