Celebrating Artist Gene Ha

Celebrating the birthday of artist Gene Ha (August 19, 1969) with his covers to the 6 issue mini-series of JSA vs Kobra...

...featuring the legendary Justice Society of America fighting against the forces of Kobra.

JSA vs. Kobra #1 and #2 (August and September, 2009)

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JSA vs. Kobra #3 and #4 (October and November, 2009)

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JSA vs. Kobra #5 and #6 (December, 2009 and January, 2010)

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Kobra Two By Two The Fourth Endgame

Kobra had been leading a charmed life....but, all good things come to an end.  

Here's where the original Kobra saga came to its end, with two final solo stories based around the Lord Naja-Naja's battles with Jason Burr.

 

The Lazarus Conspiracy

For once in Kobra's history, his creative team was the same, as Kobra #7 (March-April, 1977) hit the stands with Marty Pasko, Mike Netzer and Joe Rubinstein handling the story (and Netzer doing the cover....) as the saga of the battling Burr brothers continued.

 

Here, Jonny Double and Professor Ross Emerson were celebrating their supposed victory against Kobra, thinking they blew up his Ark (in the previous issue), as Jason Burr dashes their hopes by storming into Double's San Francisco office, fresh from his delay in Oregon.  

 

Meanwhile, Kobra is dealing with his troubles, punishing the men who let Jonny Double get one of wrist weapons.  Burr and his friends go to the hospital to check on Randu Singh, now blinded in the aftermath of last issue's battle with Kobra.  Burr recounts his history with Kobra, his parents' death and how his now missing girlfriend, Melissa McNeil, comforted him and put flowers on their graves for the last six years.  Double told Burr of his plans to go to New York with Emerson, and that they would take care of the flowers, as Burr now checked out the wrist weapon Double got.  

Using that device, Burr was able to get aboard Kobra's Ark, and battle his troops (putting Jason where Kobra wanted him).  In New York, Double and Emerson find that Burr's parents' graves were robbed....six years ago, and that no one had been there in that time!  Back to Burr, who discovers Melissa held captive in Kobra's Ark, as Kobra also takes Jason captive as well.  Kobra has a few new devices, including a Neural Neutralizer to prevent their brotherly physical telepathy from sharing their feelings.

Kobra uses an Empathic Magnetizer to share the pain Kobra is inflicting on his lackeys with Burr.  Jason feels more pain, as Kobra leaves him alone with Melissa, who tells Jason that, though she doesn't know why, she no longer loves him, but loves Kobra instead.  Kobra now reveals his plan to Jason, that Project R is for Resurrection, as Kobra plans to kill world leaders, then resurrect them under his control.  Jason breaks free of his bonds, and battles Kobra, who throws Jason off his Ark over Hudson River (as they were flying to New York), thinking he could kill Jason.  Double and Emerson have to wonder about Melissa and Jason as their facts with the Burr's graves put doubt on their story.  Yet, Kobra feels pain after turning off his Neural Neutralizer, making him realize Jason is still alive, so, plans to resurrect his parents (whom Kobra has)!

The letters' page promises a nest issue, guest-starring Batman, that would deal with these issues....yet, in a rare time of not promising the title's end, the comic was cancelled with this issue!

 

The Dead On Arrival Conspiracy

Still, the story of Kobra did get an end, in DC Special Series #1 (1977), as writer Marty Pasko reworked his tale to make it a little more of a Batman story, for Mike Netzer and Joe Rubinstein to draw (all under a special Neal Adams cover for this special 5-Star Super-Hero Spectacular issue, with four stories unrelated to Kobra, featuring Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Atom).

The adventure begins in Gotham, as Batman prevents members of the Cobra Cult from stealing a letter from the post office...and Batman is startled by the technology and uniforms of these thieves, especially when they evade him by being beamed up into the air!  

Odder still, that the letter he found, was addressed to Bruce Wayne.  Taking the letter home to the Batcave under the Wayne Foundation, and reads its contents to Alfred Pennyworth (Bruce's butler), as the letter recounts Kobra's origins (from issue one), and how Melissa ended up in Kobra's clutches (all with the letter being sent to Bruce because his family had slight ties to Burr's, with the letter being delivered by Burr's detective friend upon belief of his death, as Burr wanted Batman to continue his fight against Kobra, and Wayne was a known friend of Batman....unknowingly to Jason, Bruce was Batman!).  

But, Jason was alive, and, under duress, was revealing what was in the letter to Kobra (as Kobra was protected by his Neural Neutralizer).  Batman used clues he gathered as he discovered Kobra's Ark, and that it had been in the Swiss Alps, home of a secret base of Ra's Al Ghul, which Kobra had appropriated, having Alfred fly him there, so he could break into the base.  In the base, Batman is eventually captured by the Cobra Cult, and bound with Jason Burr, Kobra reveals his plan to them, to kill them by dipping them in Ra's Lazarus Pit, which Kobra has treated to kill anyone immersed in it, and restore them to life under Kobra's control.  

After telling them his plan, Kobra leaves the area (sigh...) and that allows Batman to use his acrobatic abilities to loosen his utility belt, dropping it into the pit to explode, and the two get free.  They find Melissa, and after a brief tussle with Kobra, where Batman takes him captive, they prepare to leave, with Jason and Melissa going ahead in the rail car off the Alps.  Kobra breaks free of Batman using his Neural Neutralizer, and beams aboard his Ark as Kobra's most nefarious plan comes to fruition, that Melissa, who was oddly deathly cold, kills Jason (as Kobra had killed and enslaved her prior to Batman's arrival).  

This causes Batman to vow to work with the Justice League to bring Kobra to justice.

While this ended Kobra's series and his individual war against the world, Kobra would pick up that war in many different titles, including Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and the Outsiders, DC Comics Presents and even briefly in the Crisis On Infinite Earths...    

 

...and later return to menace the Outsiders sans Batman, throw the governments intelligence agencies into chaos in the Suicide Squad/Checkmate! Janus Directive, deal with King Faraday on the Danger Trail, fight Deadshot, Deathstroke, Katana, Peacemaker and the female Dr. Light, face Wally West's Flash, work against Batman foe Bane, deal with Oracle and Black Canary in the Birds of Prey, face Tim Drake's Robin and more before a change in his status quo (and the new Kobra faces the JSA) and so much more, proving Kobra one of the most dangerous men in the DC Universe.

Finding these issues now is a little harder, as only Kobra #1 and the DC Special Series have been reprinted in Kobra: Resurrection (2010), but his Aquaman and Batman and the Outsiders appearances have been collected, as has his reinvention of Cheetah parts of his Wonder Woman appearances.  Time for a collection of the first seven issues of Kobra, plus the Five-Star Super-Hero Spectacular (with Jonny Double's Showcase and Marty Pasko written Superman #326/#327 as well) to give Kobra his due!

 

 

Kobra Two By Two The Third

Kobra continued to menace the world of the 1970s, and in these two issues, a direction for the villain was set, as well as the opposition to him grew, getting a new champion in the fight against him!

Here are the two issues covered here!

 

The Eye Of The Serpent

First up is Kobra #5 (November-December, 1976) with a shocking cover by Rich Buckler and Frank McLaughlin (the duo who also provided interior art for the Martin Pasko story of the Naja-Naja!).  This time around, Kobra is making plans in his Ark to destroy San Francisco, as Jason Burr is still in New York, concerned about his missing girlfriend.  Meanwhile, San Francisco detective, Jonny Double is involved in a case of his own...where a mystery woman hired him to find proof that she didn't kill her boss (whom she was having an affair with....as was another woman).  Double did too good a job, as he found her, and that boss, with him still being alive.  

But, Jonny's cover as a taxi driver didn't allow him to follow him as he got a fare, a man in a trenchcoat...who attracted enough attention to him that Jonny couldn't dump him and follow them.  Jonny couldn't even collect the fare as his electronic meter stopped working....and the trenchcoat man left a package behind (which Jonny correctly figured out was a bomb due to it messing with the meter), and took the cab to be dumped off the pier.  The trenchcoat man was an agent of Kobra, assigned to finish Double (and failed).  Double went back to the office of the woman and her boss, though they weren't there, Double found a computer center, and got information on Lt. Perez (whose death happened last issue) and from there, followed back to Horst Buchner (from issue one).  

One of Jonny's contacts even gave him a way to contact Jason Burr, which Jonny did, asking him to fly out to California (which Burr planned on).  Jonny went to meet a contact after passing over the Golden Gate Bridge, but found Kobra's agents already got to him.  This led Double into direct conflict with Kobra, while Jason eventually found his way on to a shaky flight.  Jason was over Oregon when his flight demonstrated major engine trouble, while Jonny awoke to find himself strapped to the Golden Gate Bridge, where Kobra was planning on using his recently acquired solar device to power an earthquake machine to destroy San Francisco.

Need we say...to be continued?

 

The Crack In The World Conspiracy

Kobra #6 (January-February, 1977) by Martin Pasko, Michael Netzer (Nasser at the time) and Joe Rubinstein (with cover also by these two, who finally would give Kobra a regular art team), started with Jonny Double facing off with Kobra on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jonny had escaped his bonds and figured the only way to save the bridge was to fight Kobra.  Jonny did, even knocking Kobra's wrist weapons off his wrist, and Jonny used it to stop the earthquake device.  Meanwhile, in air, the other passengers on the flight disappeared, and Kobra revealed himself to Jason Burr...acknowledging that he couldn't kill Burr or else die himself, Kobra manipulated Jason onto this flight to keep him busy, and to reveal that Kobra had Melissa (Burr's lady love).  Double was freed from the hospital by Randu Singh, and this pair met with Professor Ross Emerson, who helped Double figure out Kobra's wrist weapon.  

This bunch then broke into Kobra's computer center...but it was a trap to get them to come to Kobra, yet they escaped it (with info on what Kobra's attack on the bridge was for...to damage the Pacific telephone cables so Kobra could send his crew to repair them (and thus tap into global communications secretly).  This group showed up to stop Kobra by the cables, and infiltrated his Ark, and fought well against Kobra and his cult, though Kobra was surprised Double had retrieved his wrist gauntlet.  Kobra used his venom on Randu Singh, blinding the man, as Double sent the Ark into the water, and while he rescued Randu, Kobra was thought dead aboard his supposedly exploding Ark (which meant Jason would be dead too!  Yet, Kobra's forces still planned on doing the cable repair....).

Kobra would have one more issue for his original run, but two more tales of this run.  Confused?  Bothered?  Bewildered?  

Continue to check back....at some Bat-time, same Bat-channel for more answers!

A Quick Investigation Of Jonny Double

If you're in trouble, look for Jonny Double!  

Jonny Double is DC's hard boiled private investigator (an ex-cop working in San Francisco)... 

..handling the cases that would be too tough for any super hero, but still getting involved in cases that range from strange to downright super, better at solving cases than getting paid.

Here's a look at his premiere, and how he bounced around the whole DC Universe for a time (all starting with this issue with a Dick Giordano cover).

 

Meet Jonny Double

Jonathan Sebastian Double first appeared in Showcase #78 (November, 1968) by Marv Wolfman, Joe Gill and Jack Sparling.   The issue starts with Jonny losing his detective office (and flop house), and looking for new digs.  

 

Wilson Twain has a case for Jonny, as he is being threatened by the Syndicate (who already offed his connected brother, leaving a picture with Mr. Twain).  

Checking with his ex-boss, Lt. Branigan, Jonny gets a little Syndicate info, and pumps the pool hall for info....getting his head handed to him.  After getting patched up at the local diner by Crystal Cross, Jonny goes back to Mr. Twain, to find the legal firm of Piker and Glass involved, and, after another scuffle (in a fun house), brings down his men....but, Jonny is stiffed on the bill by Mr. Twain!

A quiet premiere, but more was in store for this man!

To Call A Deadman

Jonny showed up next in Challengers of the Unknown #74 (June-July, 1970) by Denny O'Neil, George Tuska and Neal Adams, but his role was to bring the Challengers the info on a Dr. McJames (who stole a ruby), but Jonny realized more was going on (this would lead the death-cheating Challengers to meet Deadman!).

The Face Of The Dragon

Next, Jonny Double appears in Adventure Comics #418 (April, 1972) by Len Wein, Jose Delbo and Bob Oksner, with Oksner providing the cover.  This time around, Double is hired by Nasthalia Luthor to trail Linda Danvers (with "Nasty" telling him she is planning to kill him!).  Really, Luthor's niece wants Double to prove Linda is Supergirl.  Jonny follows Linda to Chinatown, where she gets involved with the Tong and an illusion casting Batman villain, Dr. Tzin-Tzin.  After Supergirl takes care of business, Jonny returns to "Nasty", refusing to take the case and not getting paid (but wondering if Linda is Supergirl).

Tribunal Of Fear

Wonder Woman #199 (March-April, 1972) by Denny O'Neil, Don Heck and Dick Giordano (under a Jeff Jones cover) sees a much more ambitious Jonny Double.

Jonny encounters Diana Prince (the currently powerless Wonder Woman), and challenges her to a duel.  Diana beats him, and Jonny offers her a job, as he is employed by nightclub magnate, Fellows Dill.  Diana eventually agrees to work with Jonny (as Dill offers to finance an operation to restore the sight of Diana's mentor, I-Ching.  Diana and Jonny get involved against the Tribunal, a religious organization opposed to the Dill, who is seen as the "dean of beautiful women".  Diana and Double get involved fighting the Tribunal, with Double eventually being shot...by Fellows Dill!

The Beauty Hater

Wonder Woman #200 (May-June, 1972) by Denny O'Neil and Dick Giordano (with cover by Jeff Jones) picks up where the last issue left off, with Diana taking Fellows Dill down, and Double grabbing his gun.  

Dill has been driven insane, and the detectives follow his trail to the Tribunal headquarters in the mountain.  They end up at Dill's estate, where they find old Wonder Woman foe, Dr. Cyber, who had created the Tribunal to destroy all things of female beauty, as she had her face disfigured when she last faced Diana Prince.  Dr. Cyber plans to take Diana's face (with help from Ra's Al Ghul's scientist, Dr. Moon), but Diana foils her plan, and escapes with Jonny Double.

Fangs Of Fire

Wonder Woman #202 (September-October, 1972) by Samuel L. Delancy and Dick Giordano, who also provided the cover.

After being kidnapped off panel in the last issue, Diana is forced to chase down Jonny Double, who is a prisoner of Lu Shan (I-Ching's daughter).  There is a battle between Diana, Catwoman, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, and later with Lu Shan, eventually returning Jonny, Diana and Catwoman to Earth (more details on the Wonder Woman/Catwoman team-up here!).

The Grandee Caper

Wonder Woman #203 (November-December, 1972) by Samuel L. Delancy and Dick Giordano (also the cover artist) is the last time Diana is working with Jonny Double.

Diana gets a new job at Grandee's department store, and gets involved in her own trouble there, but does stop by to see Jonny Double and inform him of her new situation.

Encounters With Kobra

Jonny ended up being a target (along with all other San Francisco detectives) of Kobra (fresh off his last adventure), which ended with him working with Jason Burr and Randu Singh (and these adventures will be chronicled here soon, as they appeared in Kobra #5-#7 from 1976 to 1977!).

Jonny then showed up in Showcase #100 (May, 1978) though it was little more than a cameo, and then, worked with Harvey Bullock, Christopher Chance and Jonni Thunder at a detective's convention in Crisis On Infinite Earths #11 (February, 1986) solving the apparent murder of Angle Man, eventually getting revived for his own Vertigo series...still always broke, and always in trouble.

 

 

Kobra Two By Two The Second

Continuing Kobra coverage, with the next two issues of his short lived series from the 1970s, this time looking at the third and fourth issues of his run from the mind of Marty Pasko and an ever changing array of artists!

 

Vengeance In Ultra-Violet

Ernie Chan gave us the cover for Kobra #3 (June-July, 1976), with interiors by written by Martin Pasko, and art by Keith Giffen, Terry Austin and Dick Giordano, continuing the battle between Kobra and Solaris, as well as the duel between Kobra and Jason Burr!

 

The issue picks up where the last one left off, with Kobra and Jason falling to their doom over Montville....with Jason Burr being saved by NYPD Lt. Ricardo Perez.  But, Jason has to wonder....why he didn't die if he and Kobra are linked?  Perez calls to tell him they didn't find a body, and Jason and his girlfriend, Melissa McNeil....as they are surprised by Kobra!  Kobra came by to recruit Jason for help against Solaris....to which Jason reluctantly agrees.  

Readers also find our that Kobra and Melissa had a past, and she had thought him dead as well (though Jason doesn't directly find out of this).  At Kobra's Ark, Jason finds out of Kobra's research into Siamese twins, and how he is working to break their link as they arrive over Solaris' base, and begin their attack.  While the Cobra Cult keeps Solaris and his forces busy, Kobra and Jason break into Solaris' base, and Jason finds out about Natalie Crawford-Thomas (a young woman who Kobra fell for as he recovered in an English hospital when he was 18).  The pair fell in love (she was a notorious jewel thief), and their relationship ended when the police killed her during one of her robberies.  This inspired Kobra to return to his cult and turn them against the law (oh, and by the way, Natalie was a dead ringer for Melissa, other than hair color!)

Meanwhile, ex-NASA astro-physicist Clifton Lacey (the man now known as Solaris) was preparing to save the Heliotron (and waxing on about how he was fired from NASA by small minds who could not appreciate his genius).  Kobra and Jason take different routes to Solaris' main lair, and after Kobra kills Solaris, he tries to take the Heliotron.  Jason tries to stop him with the government super suit he mysteriously got to keep, but Lt. Perez shows up and destroys the Heliotron instead (Perez seemed to have a tracker in the suit). 

Kobra then explains he only wanted the Heliotron to help break the link between himself and Jason, and storms off.  Jason, frustrated, returns the suit to Perez, disgusted with him and suddenly seeing some nobility in his brother.

Though there was a next issue blurb in the issue, the letter's page proclaimed this the last issue of Kobra! 

Brother's Keeper -- Brother's Killer

A Joe Kubert cover for Kobra #4 (August-September, 1976, and #1 was supposed to have had a Kubert cover, but didn't) showed Kobra (and his comic) was still alive, with story by Martin Pasko, Pat Gabriele and Lowell Anderson, and a new scheme (and art team) for Kobra!

This time, Kobra is directing his cult to find ancient alien tech, when an Ovoid falls from the sky on them.  Previously, the Ovoid gave Kobra a Servitor (a giant robot) and this one did the same, but also had an alien Illandus (creators of the Servitors and Ovoids), which had two heads (though was evolving "up" to split into two beings).   In subduing the Servitor, Kobra was injured, the feelings of which where shared with his brother, Jason, who had to leave his Columbia business class because of the pain.  Jason was followed by Melissa, but Jason is still upset about the unknown past Melissa and Kobra seemed to have shared.  

Kobra takes the alien to his Manhattan base, as Jason returns to his college dorm....where Jason encounters an intruder in a turbin....which Jason quickly attacks and is thrown by.  The intruder is Randu Singh, a United Nations delegate from India, who was trying to convince the U.N. to help him and his country against Kobra (but they would take no action).  Instead, Randu looked to Jason for help (instead of his usual friend, Jason Blood and his demon, Etrigan...though this link is never mentioned in the Kobra title).  Back at Kobra's HQ, the alien explains that it is here to retrieve the Ovoid that Kobra got (which has now produced another Servitor as well).  The alien wants to collect it and go before "I/We" undergoes "the division" (splitting from his current form into two beings....which Kobra desperately wants to study in his lab).  

Meanwhile, Randu uses his extra sight (gained via "the Eye of Kharma"), to see that they need to go to the local airport.  At the airport, Lt. Perez is trying to head home to Lima, Peru, when his plane is attacked by Kobra's forces and the two Serivtors, with Kobra first blinding Perez with his venom, then having a Servitor crush him (to death!).  While on the way to the airport, Randu asked Jason is he is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to stop Kobra....as they arrive and Jason confronts Kobra and his Servitors.  The alien, realizing Kobra had duped him, uses "his/their" power to encircle Kobra and Jason in flames, so they can battle privately, at least until the alien takes off with the Ovoid and the Servitors....infuriating Kobra to leave himself, leaving Jason and Randu with the broken airport and deceased Lt. Perez.

Not the best of ending points, but an interesting place to take a break, as now, it is established Kobra and his schemes are a part of the DC Universe, which later issues (and Kobra appearances) would expand upon!

Kobra One Plus One

As Jack Kirby left DC in the 1970s, he left them a little present with an inventory story (co-plotted by Steve Sherman)....which was modified by writer Marty Pasko (who put in his own words over Kirby's) and some art changes in the first issue by artist Pablo Marcos...that of Kobra (originally planned to be King Kobra, but don't want to put on airs!).

Here's a look at the first two issues of the Kobra series....

Fangs Of The Kobra

The saga begins in Kobra #1 (February-March, 1976, with cover by Ernie Chan, story by Pasko, plot and pencils by Kirby with Sherman plot assist, inks by D. Bruce Berry, and modifications and additional inks by Marcos), with hitman Horst Buchner and associates descending into the lair of the Cobra Cult in the bowels of Manhattan, where they meet the cult leader, Kobra, where Kobra shows his wares, such as a shrunken Mastodon from Atlantis and a giant alien robot Servitor....which he uses to kill Buchner and his men for their treachery. 

Instead of using Horst to kill Jason Burr, Kobra sends the Servitor after him.  Meanwhile, at the college cafeteria, Lt. Perez of a special NYPD task force is talking to 23 year old Jason Burr, informing Burr that he needs his help...as the Servitor attacks Burr,  but the pain his crushing grip causes Jason makes Kobra stop the attack (which, along with a shot from Perez) causes the robot to self-destruct. 

Lt. Perez continues his plea with Jason...informing him that Kobra is Jason's twin brother (taken from the hospital where they born in New Delhi by the Cobra Cult, destined to become their leader). 

The Cult trained unnamed Burr over the years (with injuries gotten by one shared by the other via a sympathetic bond between the two which had them sharing feelings).    Kobra, now realizing he cannot kill Jason, plans to put him in an isolation room, as Jason forces a meeting between the two by burning his own hand....and, at the meeting, Perez and his men try to kill Kobra.  Kobra escapes via his flying Kobra Ark, and Jason deals with his new life.

Code Name: Gemini

Kobra #2 (April-May, 1976) sports another Ernie Chan cover, with interiors by Martin Pasko, Chic Stone and Pablo Marcos.  The issue begins with a dream confrontation between Jason and Kobra, with Kobra killing Jason (and himself) in a mirrored combat room.  Awakening at Merrill Hall campus housing, Jason is comforted by his girlfriend, Melissa. 

Kobra awakens in his Ark, having had the same dream as Jason, and feels the comfort Melissa is giving Jason (with Kobra having ties to her and a look-a-like named Natalie whom he loved, who had died). 

But, Kobra's reflection ends as he must deal with Solaris, a villain trying to steal the Heliotron from a lab at the New York Fairgrounds.  The Cobra Cult fights Solaris' men as Kobra faces Solaris, with Solaris getting away with the Heliotron due to an incompetent Cobra Cult member.  Meanwhile, Jason fills in Melissa about recent events (all from the last issue) as Lt. Perez arrives to enlist Jason's help. 

Back at his Manhattan base, Kobra tortures his failing lackey in the isolation chamber.  Back at Jason's dorm, Perez apologizes for the attempt to kill Kobra, and explains that Kobra is after Solaris' Heliotron (Solaris having been a NASA engineer who created the Heliotron, a solar based devise that could advance age in a person). 

Solaris plans on using it to blackmail New York, threatening to unleash the device on Long Island, but Perez asks Jason to help, even giving him a super suit to help (though Jason doesn't take to the code name of Gemini).  As Solaris and Kobra battle in the skies over Long Island, Perez bring Jason to lure Kobra out of his Ark, which he does by going out in his flying super suit....right towards the beam of the Heliotron beam....which Kobra must save Jason from.  Kobra comes out of the ship to save Jason, but the beam strikes Jason's jet pack, and the two plummet to the ground....

....a heck of cliffhanger to end on, but perhaps there will be more Kobra "Koverage" coming in the future, as this seven issue series from Conway's Corner (having had a first issue planned to be in First Issue Special three times, but instead got its own title).