Celebrating Artist Kerry Gammill

Celebrating the birthday of artist Kerry Gammill (April 26, 1954) with his covers to the 1994 Supergirl mini-series...

...where Supergirl (the protoplasmic Matrix) finds her independence from Lex Luthor, in the height of the Superman triangle of comics.

Supergirl #1 and #2 (February, and March, 1994)

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Supergirl #3 and #4 (April, and May, 1994)

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Celebrating Artist Leonard Kirk

Celebrating artist Leonard Kirk on his birthday (December 6, 1966) with friends, not unlike these two covers of Supergirl (#36 and #37, September and October, 1999) where Supergirl faces off with the members of Young Justice (Impulse, Robin, Arrowette, Wonder Girl and Superboy) who were manipulated by Dante.

Celebrating Artist Phil Noto

Celebrating artist Phil Noto on his birthday (July 18, 1971) with his covers to the Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom mini-series of 2009...

...where Superman and Supergirl fight the forces of Apokolips (including Maelstrom, Darkseid and the Female Furies!).

Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #1 and #2 (Early and Late January, 2009)

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Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #3 and #4 (Early and Late February, 2009)

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Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #5 (March, 2009)

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Celebrating Artist Leonard Kirk

Celebrating the birthday of artist Leonard Kirk (December 6, 1966).

But, how to celebrate the birth of this marvelous, super artist?

Why, with a couple of his Supergirl covers, featuring the Power Of Shazam, the female Captain Marvel (aka Mary Marvel) and CM3 (Captain Marvel, Jr.).

Covers from Supergirl #68 and #69 (May and June, 2002).

Happy Birthday Supergirl

Today is considered the birthday of Supergirl, Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El.

    

To celebrate, here is her first appearance and a major turning point in Supergirl's life!

Action Comics #252 (May, 1959)

Under a cover by Curt Swan and Al Plastino, with a story by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, debuted "The Supergirl From Krypton!".  Supergirl's rocket crash landed on Earth, and Superman was there to greet the young girl in a costume styled like his, who also had powers as he did.

Sent to Earth from Argo City (a section of Krypton that had survived the destruction of the planet, for a while) by her father, Zor-El, Kara came to Earth. 

Vowing to keep her safe and give her time to get used to Earth, Superman kept her as his secret weapon, with Kara not revealing herself to the world, and living as Linda Lee in Midvale Orphanage.

That status quo lasted for a while, with Linda getting adopted by the Danvers, but Supergirl was still a secret to the world at large until...

Action Comics #285 (February, 1962)

Under a cover by Curt Swan and George Klein, with story by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney, Superman finally reveals Supergirl to the world as "The World's Greatest Heroine!".  with many of her friends acknowledging it, including merboy Jerro, Linda's adoptive parents Fred and Edna Danvers and her friend from Midvale, Dick Malverne.

In a double sized story, Supergirl even faces the Infinite Monster alone after her big reveal, as well as getting a little help from her friends from the Legion of Super-Heroes (Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Brainiac 5).

From here, the world looked a little brighter with Supergirl in it.

Jimmy Olsen Amnesiac Orphan

It seems hard to believe that with all the trials that Jimmy Olsen has been through, that he'd ever forget about them...

...but, that's just what happened here, under a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye, in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #46 (July, 1960), as he lost him memory and ended up in an orphanage... 

...coincidentally, the one Supergirl was living in at the time!

Jimmy Olsen, Orphan!

In this story by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and John Forte, Jimmy gets an assignment to cover a flood (because both Lois and Clark were busy), but should be careful, as Superman is away in space.  At the town, Jimmy gets hit on the head while rescuing a cat, and loses his memory.  Jimmy is found with no identification, so ends up at an orphanage....but, it is in Midvale, where Supergirl lives as Linda Lee.  

There, Linda recognizes him, but as Superman's secret weapon at this time, cannot reveal herself as knowing him.  Linda tries to keep Jimmy from getting adopted before his memory returns.  Jimmy's memory returns as Linda triggers his memories (thanks to a previous meeting when Jimmy was a Wolf Man), but wants to stay to get a story about being an orphan.  Jimmy nearly discovers Linda's identity as Supergirl before Linda can get Superman to come and take the wayward cub reporter back to the Daily Planet. 

Wishing A Super Birthday To Artist John Romita

Celebrating the birthday of John Romita (January 24, 1930).  Though normal known for his work on that amazing, spectacular friendly neighborhood guy over at Marvel, John did do an occasional cover for DC.  Two, in fact, one...Supergirl #80 (May, 2003) with inks by Jose Marzan Jr., and a variant of Superman #34 (October, 2014), inked by Klaus Janson.

John also worked on two of the DC/Marvel treasury books, one for MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz (1975),  and the other, the Marvel Treasury Edition #28 (1981), providing layouts to Bob Larkin's painting starring Superman and Spider-Man!

Supergirl Revealed

Once, Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), after arriving on Earth from Argo City, was kept secret from the world by her cousin, Superman.  

Superman put her in an orphanage as Linda Lee, and she later adopted by the Danvers, becoming Linda Danvers.

But, that all changed this day, according to the old DC calendar, today was the day Superman revealed her existence to the world in Action Comics #285 (February, 1962, under a cover by Curt Swan and George Klein), with a story by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney.

Supergirl first appeared back in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959), reprinted in Secret Origins #2 (April-May, 1973), and this issue, plus a few that led up to it were collected in a giant Action Comics #360 (March-April, 1968) (and follow the links to read more on them!).

Happy Birthday George Perez

A little happy birthday to artist George Perez...

...and, here are a few DC Digests that have his art on the cover!

Best of DC 17 (October, 1981)

A cover of Supergirl by George Perez and Dick Giordano, with issues inside reprinting Supergirl stories from Action Comics #256, #285, #318, Adventure Comics #424, Supergirl #1 and Superman Family #165!

Great tales summarizing the career of Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El, aka Linda Lee aka Linda Danvers!

Best of DC 21 (February, 1982)

The Justice Society of America are rebuilding on this cover, all by George Perez himself, with stories in this issue including DC Special #29, All-Star Comics #35 and Brave and the Bold #62!

These tales include the original of the JLA, the first appearance of Per Degaton and a Starman/Black Canary team up!

DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest 19 (March, 1982)

The original Doom Patrol are on view on this little cover by George Perez and Frank Giacoia, with stories inside including My Greatest Adventure #80, Doom Patrol #86, #91 and #90!

These tales include the first appearance of the Doom Patrol, the Brotherhood of Evil, Mento and battle royale!

Didn't forget about the New Teen Titans Digest, but that one is so special, it will get its own coverage!

Superman Gets Sick: The Last Days Of Superman

Sure, Superman is more powerful than a locomotive, but even though he can handle the biggest threats and largest menaces....there are things that can stop even a Superman.


Amazingly, it could be a miniscule microbe that could finally spell doom for the Man of Steel, leading into...."The Last Days Of Superman", the comic being covered today.


Superman #156 (October, 1962) was by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein, with Swan/Klein giving us the cover.

Superman's Death Sentence

It all started innocently enough, with Jimmy Olsen calling in Superman to have him stop a collision between a space capsule and a green meteor.  Superman deflects the meteor to the ground, saving the capsule, but Jimmy Olsen the Daily Planet photographer and Superman go to investigate.  At the crash site, Superman reads Kryptonian writing on the meteor, telling that it contained samples of Virus X, a plague that had been released on Krypton years before (and Superman recalled as a baby, hearing of this from Tharb-El, and how he treated the virus and sent it into space).  Superman buries the meteor with a boulder, as a wind blows from the direction of the meteor towards Superman.  As Superman approaches Jimmy Olsen while he takes pictures, Superman feels ill...and thinks he might have caught Virus X! 

Going to an Earth doctor, the doctor says he has no way to check Superman in any meaningful manner, but that his increased heart rate and sudden weakness lead him to believe Superman has less than 30 days of life left.  Superman leaves the hospital and his Daily Planet friends, and contemplates how to better the world, enlisting Supergirl's help to gather others, as Superman has his robots construct an isolation chamber around him (as Superman feels weak when talking to Jimmy Olsen).

The Super-Comrades Of All Time

As Supergirl recruits more help, including Krypto the Superdog, Lori Lemaris of Atlantis, the Legion of Super-Heroes (except for Brainiac 5, who mysteriously won't join in) and the Kandorian Superman Emergency Squad to perform many duties to make the Earth better and to keep the planet safe from threats that will menace the planet after Superman is gone, Superman gets another bout of weakness as Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane visit Superman in his self-imposed exile in the desert.   The heroes find ways to stop a rouge planet from eventually crashing into Earth as well as stopping a cloud of space fungus that would kill all plant life on Earth should it have reached our planetary orbit.  All this activity has stressed out poor Lois Lane, who faints from the pressure, with Jimmy Olsen taking her back to Metropolis in the Flying Newsroom, only to come back to find Superman has left his cell. 

Annoyed by the lack of participation by Brainiac 5, Supergirl heads back to the future to confront the intelligent Legionnaire, finding he had not turned to evil like his ancestor (and Superman foe, Brainiac), but instead was working in the lab to find a cure...but was unable to find one on Earth.

Superman's Last Day Of Life

Jimmy Olsen goes searching for Superman, as Supergirl helps the Legion and Superman's Robots in clearing space in Antartica, preparing to melt its ice to allow the land mass there to be inhabited by humans.  Superman had gone back to Smallville to contemplate the loves of his life: Lois Lane, Lana Lang and Lyla Lerrol of Krypton, then to Gotham City to say goodbye to Batman and Robin, then carves a message in the moon, revealing his identity (and hope for the world), before returning to his isolation chamber in the desert, where Jimmy and Lois help the now weakening Superman.  Supergirl, Lori Lemaris, Krypto and the Superman Emergency Squad stop an Atlantean monster before going to meet with the Legion and Superman.  There, Supergirl decides to go back to Krypton to find Tharb-El and see if he had found a cure.  On Krypton past, Supergirl overhears Tharb-El tell of an element 202 which would kill the virus, but Kryptonians as well; so he exposes his sample of the virus to the element, and sends it into space. 

Wait....Tharb-El killed the sample before it reached Earth?  Then, why is Superman dying?  Mon-El (at the time, a silent resident of the Phantom Zone) provides the answer....a small piece of Kryptonite had logged in Jimmy Olsen's camera, and made Superman sick every time Jimmy came near (the virus was never active or infectious).  Finding the Kryptonite, Superman recovered (and Supergirl and Krypto erased Superman's alter ego message on the moon).

So, it appears hypochondria is a surprising weakness of Superman's... ...amazing how the power of the mind can make one weak.  Still, it pays to be vigilant, as, for a run of Action Comics in the #360s, Superman would encounter Virus X again...and be infected, but that's a tale for a different time!

This full length tale from Superman #156 has been reprinted many times, including in the Limited Collectors' Edition C-52 (October, 1977), Superman in the Sixties (1999) and in Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (2004).



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Crisis For Supergirl And Flash

Just worth noting how much Supergirl and the Flash were involved in DC's original Crisis On Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Perez in 1985....

...all in the epic battle of the Monitor (with the heroes of the Earths, including Harbinger and Pariah) and the Anti-Monitor (and his Shadow Demons)....



....all as we wait for the resolution of the Crisis On Infinite Earths on the CW!

Why Superman Needs Clark Kent

Seems pretty simple.  Superman lives the life as a super-hero, while Clark Kent earns the keep working for the Daily Planet.  

But, why not just be Superman all the time?

Action Comics #305 (October, 1963) sheds a little light on that idea, under a cover by Curt Swan and George Klein!

Why Superman Needs A Secret Identity

Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan and George Klein provide the Superman story in this issue.  Other than the splash page, the story starts in the here and now, with Clark and Jimmy doing some work at the behest of Perry White, but getting in trouble, as Benny The Blaster tries a robbery, and Clark thinks there is no way to save Jimmy without revealing his identity.  So, Clark goes through a few imaginary scenarios in his head....such as if he had revealed his identity as Superboy (at his parents request, as Clark was bullied).  Ends up mobsters would likely have killed the Kents, and Superman would end up alone.  Second time, criminals find out Superman's identity (thanks to Jimmy) and expose him to Gold Kryptonite, ending Superman's career.  The third time, Superman gives up the pretense of being Clark....but still wants to help, so tries an alter ego as Mark Trent, but cannot get a job, so ends up a homeless vagrant. 

With a little more thinking, Clark finds a way to sabotage Benny's nitroglycerin, saving the day without revealing his identity!

The Girl Who Hated Supergirl

The second story of the issue by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney has Supergirl dealing with Karen Blair, who seems to hate the Maid of Steel.  Linda Danvers keeps having encounters with Karen Blair, who professes a hatred of Supergirl!  As Supergirl, returning to Midvale to celebrate the day she landed on Earth (May 18, 1959), she even tries to arrange for her to fly Karen, but nearly kills her in the process.  Karen explains her father had invented a way to communicate with aliens, and was, as an object flew between the communication rays, setting his lab on fire, killing him and injuring Karen's brother, confining him to a wheelchair.  Supergirl, using Superman's chronoscope in the Fortress of Solitude, shows Karen what really happen that day (that an alien bat had flown into the path of the rays, reflecting them back).  Supergirl then gives her the plans to her father's communication device, as well as getting doctors to help her brother reacquire his mobility!

Lois Lane Tries Out Being Batwoman

Lois Lane has assumed some pretty interesting jobs over the years as an ace reporter for the Daily Planet, but she really tried something different with a new look in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #14 (January, 1960, under a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye).....


....as she tried out Batwoman's look in a ploy to hook Batman?

Lois Lane's Secret Romance

To be fair, this story by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger doesn't really feature Batwoman (or even Batman), but it does feature her costume, and it's Supergirl's fault! 

Supergirl tried to help out her cousin, who wasn't getting any closer to Lois Lane, and figured if Clark married Lois, the two could adopt her and get poor Linda Lee (who was Superman's secret weapon at this time) out of Midvale Orphanage.

Supergirl first tries painting Lois' face on billboards for Clark to see, then works on a dinner, then a relaxing boat ride, but, Superman's super responsibilities tend to get in the way of any romance between Lois and Superman.

Supergirl even tries copying Batman's handwriting and sending love letters to Lois as Batman (as well as a Batwoman costume for her to wear....).  None of this really works, and Supergirl girl tries subliminal programming on Clark to get him to propose to Lois...but it works too well!

Supergirl realizes her efforts are too much, and stops trying to interfere in her cousin's life.

This story was reprinted in Lois Lane Annual #2 in Summer, 1963, and many of Supergirl's main life events were reprinted in Supergirl Action Giants!  Sadly, the original Batwoman and Supergirl seemed to have never met!

 

A Crisis Is Coming

"Worlds Will Live.  Worlds Will Die.  And the DC Universe will never be the same!".

DC was right about that in their ad that preceded their 50th Anniversary celebratory 12 issue maxi-series, the Crisis On Infinite Earths!

Now, thanks to the CW's Flash, Arrow and Supergirl, the television viewing audience knows the term, but, the Crisis didn't happen in a day.

Over the course of the next year, it's time to introduce a few of the key concepts and characters that were part of that series!

To start...

Flash

Barry Allen was a police scientist struck by lightning in his lab, and the electrified chemicals gave him super speed, as of Showcase #4 (September-October, 1956), when he became the Flash.  The Flash helped found the Justice League of America, and, found out the existence of alternate Earths when he met Jay Garrick, the Flash of another Earth, who was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. 

These two Flashes had multiple adventures together, which also led to the reformation of the Justice Society, as well as adventures of the JLA and JSA together.

Supergirl

Kara Zor-El escaped the destruction of Krypton on a piece of the planet which contained her home, Argo City, broke off, but even it was prone to disaster, resulting in her being rocketed to Earth in Action Comics #252 (May, 1959).  There, she found her cousin, the hero known as Superman, and, having powers like his, trained in secret in Midvale and then became a hero in her own right as Supergirl (while establishing her alter ego as Linda Danvers). 

While Supergirl didn't have as many adventures on alternate Earths as her cousin, Supergirl and Superman did work together with Captain Marvel and his sister, Mary Marvel, preventing the destruction of their Earths.

Psycho Pirate

Roger Hayden was the second man to become the Psycho Pirate, after rooming with the original, Charley Halstead (a foe of the JSA) in prison, as revealed in Showcase #56 (May-June, 1965).  Gaining the powers of emotion manipulation from the Medusa Mask, Psycho Pirate menaced Dr. Fate and Hourman, and later, all the members of the Justice Society of America for a time. 

Hayden even joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains (with Brain Wave, Killer Frost, the Cheetah and others), and menaced both the JLA and JSA during one of their annual team-ups, and, after being caught, ended up being brought back in time for a bit to menace Infinity, Inc. and the All-Star Squadron.

Monitor

One being to watch them all.  That was the Monitor, who was doing that, starting with New Teen Titans #21 (July, 1982), providing villains to face the Titans.  For most of his appearances prior to the Crisis, the Monitor was seen either in silhouette or not in full view on his satellite, to keep an air of mystery about the character....as he was a power broker to super-villains, providing manpower and equipment to fight super heroes. 

All part of his plan to gather information on those heroes, for when their powers and abilities would be needed in the most dire of situations....the Crisis On Infinite Earths!

Check back, as time allows, more mysteries of the Crisis will be revealed!

Secret Origins 2 and 3 of 1973

Even more Secret Origins for fans of comic history....

...this time around, the second and third issue of the 1970s series of reprints, this time around, featuring Supergirl, Green Lantern, Atom, Wonder Woman and Wildcat from April-May and July-August of 1973 with covers by Nick Cardy.

Supergirl

First up in the second issue of Secret Origins, was Action Comics #252 (May, 1959)  by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, with "The Supergirl From Krypton", with the story of how Kara survived the explosion of Krypton on a city sized fragment that had headed into space with a pocket of air, until a later calamity forced her father, Zor-El, to send her to Earth (with a costume similar to Superman's made by her mother, as they had chosen Earth for the lass based on his appearance and deducing that he was Kryptonian).  The rocket landed with Superman appearing to help, figuring out she was his cousin, and helping to place her in an orphanage in Midvale, where she would live as Linda Lee, training secretly to use her powers to later help Superman.

Many details were added to the origin, such as the name of the city (Argo City), her mother, (Allura) and much of Supergirl's later movements to become a credited heroine (as well as her adoption by the Danvers, and even finding her original parents alive....many details also covered in the Supergirl giants of Action Comics).

Green Lantern

Next, there was an "SOS Green Lantern", sent in Showcase #22 (September-October, 1959)  by John Broome, Gil Kane and Joe Giella.  That SOS was sent by Green Lantern Abin Sur, who found test pilot Hal Jordan, determining that Hal was of good character and born without fear, Abin gave him some details of being a Green Lantern, bestowing upon him his ring as Abin lay dying in his spaceship, so that Hal Jordan would take on the Power Ring and Lantern of the interstellar Green Lantern.

Hal soon adopted a mask, and even an oath for recharging his ring (which gave him the power to create green constructs, fire beams of energy and fly, with a weakness to yellow), but details of other parts of his origin (such as why he made the mask, the reason for the oath, and those who administered the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe), came later, as show in the Secret Origin reprinted in the 1961 Secret Origins (as well as how there was a previous Green Lantern, Alan Scott, but these details came in later issues, and a few details were given about them in text in this issue by E. Nelson Bridwell).

Atom

The "Birth Of The Atom" came in Showcase #34 (September-October, 1961) by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson, with Ray Palmer, finding a fragment of White Dwarf Star material, using it to build a ray to shrink items (but being unable to regrow them without the items exploding), and needing to be successful to get his girlfriend, lawyer Jean Loring, to accept his proposal of marriage.

Ray and Jean took some students spelunking (to take Ray's mind off his failing experiments, though he took along the White Dwarf lens), getting trapped in cave with no way out....Ray used the lens and sunlight from a small hole to shrink, then climbed the wall (smooth to a normal sized human) to cut a bigger hole, for Jean and the students to escape, but Ray safely regrew after accidentally walking under the lens again (which had cave water dripped upon it).

This led Ray to become the hero, the Atom (and the letters' page gave a little more detail, as well as a little more history of the other, Golden Age Atom, and this tale had been previously presented in the More Secret Origins Giant of 1965).

Wonder Woman

Starting off the third issue of  Secret Origins with the fuller origin of the Golden Age Wonder Woman from Wonder Woman #1 (Summer, 1942) by William Marston and Harry G. Peter, summing up the story from All-Star Comics #8 and Sensation Comics #1, of how Paradise Island was founded to escape Hercules, how Hippolyte made Diana from clay and was given life by the Greek gods, how military pilot Steve Trevor found the island and was rescued by Diana, who then participated in a contest (masked, as Hippolyte forbade Diana to participate, or leave the island), with Diana winning, and taking the costume and lasso to take Steve Trevor home to the United States, and remain as its protector, Wonder Woman (staying by Steve as nurse, Diana Prince).

More details were given over the first few issues of Sensation Comics and All-Star Comics #8 of how Diana became Wonder Woman (and got her lasso), but this was all condensed here to make one flowing story. 

Wildcat

Last but not least was the story from Sensation Comics #1 (January, 1942) by Bill Finger and Irwin Hasen of "The Origin Of Wildcat" (though you can see he didn't make the cover of Wonder Woman's second appearance).  Wildcat was Ted Grant, who was born a sick child, but his dad, Henry, got him to fight, to not be picked on as he was, eventually being mentored by Socker Smith, to learn to box...then, Ted faced Socker in a heavyweight championship fight, which crooked management had rigged, so Socker died in the ring, with Ted being framed for his murder.

Ted, now on the run, hear a kid talk of the heroic Green Lantern (the original) and his origin (from a comic), and decided to become a hero himself, somehow making the Wildcat costume, finding the framers, and clearing Ted Grant's good name.  Ted Grant still fights crime as Wildcat, sometimes alone, or with the rest of the Justice Society of America, of which he became a member.

Check back here for more of this run of Secret Origins with Nick Cardy covers and facts by E. Nelson Bridwell, including origins for Vigilante, Kid Eternity, Spectre and the Legion of the Super-Heroes.