Celebrating Artist Stephen Bissette

Celebrating the birthday of artist Stephen Bissette (March 14, 1955) with a couple of his covers for Saga Of The Swamp Thing (#26 and #27, from July and August, 1984), as Swamp Thing begins to accept his supernatural beginnings, and teams up with Etrigan, the Demon.

Celebrating Artist Rick Veitch

Celebrating artist Rick Veitch on his birthday (May 7, 1951) with a pair of his covers (DC Comics Presents #85, September, 1985 and Swamp Thing #79, December 1988)...

..featuring the unlikely team ups of Superman and Swamp Thing.

April Fools With Vertigo Ambush Bug

As it is April Fools' Day, one could actually spend a whole month (and then some) focusing on Ambush Bug as done by Keith Giffen, but instead, just a peek at his Ambush Bug Nothing Special #1 (September, 1992), from a time when comics were very serious, especially DC's Vertigo line.

So, of course, as DC's continuity cop, Ambush Bug came along and had a little fun with Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, Sandman and Death in Keith's 9 panel style.  

Because, why not?

Ambush Bug meets Swamp Thing and the Doom Patrol 

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Ambush Bug meets Sandman and Death

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Almost Frankenstein - The Patchwork Man

The Patchwork Man premiered early in the original Swamp Thing series, ended up with a special issue of House Of Secrets, then ended his life with an issue of Swamp Thing.

Let's see how this monster that resembled Frankenstein's was put together....

Early Swamp Things

The Patchwork Man first appeared in Swamp Thing #2 (December-January, 1972/1973) by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.  He was one of the Un-Men, a group of genetic creations by scientist Anton Arcane.  In Swamp Thing #3 (February-March, 1973), it was revealed that he was Gregori Arcane, the brother of Anton and father of Abby, whom Anton rebuild after Gregori stepped on a landmine.  Gregori had limited memory of his previous life, but he recognized Abby, and worked with the Swamp Thing to save her....though he had a serious, nearly life ending fall.

Reprise: The Patchwork Man

The Patchwork Man returned in House Of Secrets #140 (February-March, 1976) by Gerry Conway and Nestor Redondo (with cover by Ernie Chan), having somehow gotten to New York, and attacking saleswomen and security in a department store.  He was shot in the head, and taken to police headquarters, where Doctor Elijah Chomes of the Mount Good Hope Institute took custody of him (after subduing the creature when it again tried to break loose).  

Discussing the mental state of the monster in front of lab assistants Andy Harty and Darleen Greer, the Patchwork Man flashbacks on how he was Gregori Arcane, doting on his daughter Abby, though the government was going to take her away due to his long sales trips.  

Anton vowed to help his brother, but the government came when Gregori was away.  Going through a section of European forest he usually didn't, Gregori stepped on an old German landmine.  Anton found his brother, and rebuild him into the Patchwork Man.  Gregori remembered, vaguely, his time fighting with Swamp Thing, his fall....but nothing after.  Chomes said one of his European allies found the monster wandering by a river, captured and shipped him to New York, where it got loose and ended up in the department store.  Chomes states how the creature is like a newborn babe, which makes Darleen dizzy, so he asked Harty to take her home.  

The Doctor continues to experiment on the Patchwork Man, trying to determine the depth of his regenerative abilities, but the creature breaks loose, ending up on the New York street, and befriended by a cabbie, who takes him away from the lab.  Andy and Dareen discuss her fainting incident, with Dr. Greer saying she's pregnant, but is debating having an abortion (a moral dilemma for her, as a doctor she wants to save life, but if she has a baby, she will lose her career).

This would have continued in House of Secrets #141, but the series took a hiatus, and when it came back, the next Patchwork Man story didn't appear.  It was finished, and was published in a European magazine, and only recently here in the states, in the House of Secrets Omnibus Volume 2.

End Of The Patchwork Man

The Patchwork Man didn't come back until Swamp Thing #59 (April, 1987) by Steve Bissette, Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala (with cover by John Tolteben and Bill Sienkiewicz), where Abby met back up with her father, who had been falling apart (with memories of how he read her her favorite story when she was young...Shelley's Frankenstein!).   While Abby found him in the swamp while looking for a missing Swamp Thing, Gregori didn't want her to see him, and was torn apart by the hail.  Abby found his body, but not his head....

...Gregori and Anton later appeared as the Swamp Thing travelled back in time to the World Wars, but the Patchwork Man was done.

Swamp Thing World Wars

Swamp Thing is not the first person you think of when you think of war comics, but, for two very special issues in 1989, the spirit of Alec Holland was involved in some weird war tales, teaming up with a few characters from the two World Wars as he had sought refuge from an Invasion! of his own (as the Dominators had taken him out of that war, leaving his love, Abby Arcane, on her own).

Brothers In Arms, Part Two

First up, Swamp Thing #82 (January, 1989) under a cover by John Tottleben, in a story by Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala, Swamp Thing finds himself waking up in the body of a dead soldier, Alexander Holland, found by Easy Company (and reanimating the body to interact with Sgt. Rock and his crew), earning him the nickname of Lazarus.  

Swamp Thing finds out it is May, 1945, the ending of World War II, and, as a Nazi SS soldier retrieves mystic artifacts from the Castle Von Hammer (including the Claw of Aelkhund sealed behind the wall in the castle with the remains of a French World War I aviator).  Easy Company gets a new assignment, taking out a Nazi meat-packing plant, with Rock and Lazarus going to scout it out.  

While, next to the plant, Anton Arcane meets the Nazi with the artifacts, planning some supernatural feet with them that would save the dying Reich....yet, Arcane had plans beyond what the Austrian painter had, including a sacrifice of one of the bulls (which had supernatural strength) and taking advantage of this war, as he had the past, to perform medical experiments to prolong his own life, as well as make his inhuman Un-Men.  

Rock and Lazarus approached the plant, with Swamp Thing calming a large bull there, with Rock taking that as a sign that Lazarus would unleash the animals as a distraction while Easy Company stormed the plant.  Easy had it easy for once, as a group of allied planes had missed their target and would be able to bomb the plant instead.  Rock went looking for Lazarus, only to find him dead this time (as Swamp Thing had vacated his body, reforming in his usual form, to go after Anton Arcane, who had been his enemy for decades....though Swamp Thing thought they hadn't met yet).  

Confronting Arcane, Swamp Thing was dispatched in fire when confronted with the Claw of Aelkhund, and burst into flames, as Arcane was impaled by the bull Lazarus had let free.  Easy Company later found the bull and had a barbecue, yet Arcane had escaped (as he would later menace Swamp Thing soon after his first appearance).  Easy Company's medic, "Pappy", was really the Unknown Soldier, who had a mission of his own, which was to get the mystic items from the Nazis (which he did).  

This left Rock and Easy, with Sgt. Rock still wondering when that last piece of metal might fall from the sky, ending the war for him.

Meanwhile, back in the modern day, Abby Arcane was met by Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man (who was going by Floro now, and working with the New Guardians during the Invasion!), who said he could not find Swamp Thing in the green (the mystic force Swamp Thing worked with to protect the Earth), but Abby still had faith that her husband was alive.

Sgt. Frank Rock and Easy Company had been fighting World War II for decades in the comics, usually dealing with the hard, cold facts of war, but occasionally dealt with some of the supernatural side, working with the crew of the Haunted Tank and even participating in the Crisis with them and the Losers.  Rock represented the "every man" of World War II, and was said to have died with the last shot of World War II.

The Unknown Soldier was one of those odd things that Sgt. Rock encountered, being an immortal fighting the German forces behind the lines using his disguises during World War II, and even had supposedly helped finish the war ending the threat of Hitler in the end of April, 1945.

Brothers In Arms, Part One

Following Swamp Thing forward put us back in World War I in Swamp Thing #83 (February, 1989) by Rick Veitch, Tom Mandrake and Alfredo Alcala, under a cover by Rick Veitch with a fokker flying into eerily swamp clouds.  

 

 

Here, Anais Arcane and her two children, Aniela and Gregori, had taken refuge in the castle of her cousin, Baron Hans Von Hammer, noted as the Hammer Of Hell, a World War I flier (for the Germans, thus making him an Enemy Ace) while her husband fought in the war.  The Baron saved Anais and her family from a plane with two pilots while they were walking in the woods, with one French pilot dead and burned, and the other wandering out of the swamp, still alive but misformed (as Swamp Thing had come into his body, but had less success in stitching it back together).  

Anais had to go to the medical school her other son was attending, as they had planned to kick Anton out for a host of problems, then went searching for him near the battle front (where Anton was taking advantage of the war to perform human experiments, though his mother only saw that he was "helping").  

Taking him back to Castle Von Hammer to help the misformed Frenchmen, Anton reunited with his siblings (not a happy one for his sister or brother), and took to experimenting on the wounded Frenchman (who, while recuperating, still was not able to resist, especially after being subjected to torture under Anton's care.....though he recognized this man as his foe, and his mother, who looked like her granddaughter, Abby).  

Baron Hammer tolerated Anton's presence for a time as he had given the aviator drugs to help him sleep as he dealt with the horror of air battle, and Anton used the Von Hammer library to further his own occult research.  

Eventually, Anais caught Anton using the supernatural objects in spells on the Frenchman in a cavern under the castle, and was disgusted by the evil her son was performing.  Anton turned to kill his mother, who was saved as the Enemy Ace had returned just in time to shoot Anton (who wandered off, surviving due to his early experiments in the occult and medicine, now more determined to prolong his life after meeting a strange swamp man for the first time).  Hammer used the Claw of Aelkhund (which his father had gotten decades ago during a trip to America) to dispatch Swamp Thing off in time again, walling up the room under the castle with it and the dead Frenchman's body, as Anais later learned of the death of her husband.  

Meanwhile, back in the modern day, Abby was informed by the Phantom Stranger, that Swamp Thing was in neither heaven nor hell after the Dominators' attack, but Abby still believed her Alec was alive (though she would have to deal with her ex-husband, Matt Cable, as his support checks were now ending).

The Enemy Ace was a short running feature of the adventures of Baron Hans Von Hammer, a German fighter pilot of World War I, and how a man who could fight ruthlessly in aviation battles dealt with the fact that he had to kill for his country.  The Enemy Ace had a few odd foes, such as the Hangman and St. George, and even traveled in time, being manipulated by the Lord of Time to fight the Justice League and Justice Society.

As Abby dealt with her problems waiting for her husband to return to her, Swamp Thing continued to fall back in time, including the Wild West (with Jonah Hex, Johnny Thunder and more), the Revolutionary War (with Tomahawk) and Camelot (and Merlin, the Demon and the Shining Knight).....in a story that, sadly, caused much controversy in its time, with the writer of the story leaving DC after not being able to tell the story in the way he had planned, resulting in a months' long delay as a replacement team had to be found to wrap up the story (close to what was originally planned, but missing a key component).

Swamp Thing Two Beginnings

Swamp Thing may have started his first appearance fully formed, but he had back story that developed as that appearance progressed...

...and, the swamp's protector even had it happen twice!  Read on to see how DC fans were introduced to two Swamp Things in the early days of the Bronze Age....and how they would eventually meet!

Swamp Thing

The original Swamp Thing first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (June-July, 1971) in a tale by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, as the creature watched a mansion at the edge of the swamp.  In the mansion, were recent husband and wife, Damian Ridge and Linda Olsen Ridge, married six months, yet Linda kept thinking of her previous husband, Alex Olsen.  Alex and Damian were scientists, and in the process of their experiments, Alex was killed in a fiery lab experiment.  

Damian had sabotaged the experiment, and taken Alex's dying body, and buried it in the swamp, as Damian had secretly lusted for Linda.  After Alex was gone, Alex pursued and married Linda, but she was beginning to suspect something.  Alex, realizing he loved freedom more than Linda, planned to kill Linda.  The swamp creature saw Damian trying to kill Linda through the window, and burst in, killing Damian.  Linda recoiled from the creature in fear, so the creature left, with Linda unaware that the creature was the mutated body of her husband, Alex Olsen.

Dark Genesis

That tale was so successful, that Wein and Wrightson were allowed to do it again with Swamp Thing #1 (October-November, 1972).  This time around, it was a different Swamp Thing watching a barn on the edge of the swamp, a barn to which had previously come government agent Lt. Matt Cable, bringing scientists Alec and Linda Holland, a married couple that had been working on a bio-restorative formula that would accelerate and enhance plant grow, which would be very valuable to many people.  

After Cable left them to their work, the couple were approached by Maxwell Ferrett and his thugs, who were looking to purchase the formula (which the Hollands were unwilling to sell).

Ferrett left making a threat to the couple, leaving them on edge (though they felt better after a wayward dog later came to the barn/laboratory.. ...though they shouldn't have, as the dog had a bug...which allowed agents of the Conclave to listen in to them, all the better to direct Ferrett, their agent).  After Linda leaves for a bit, Ferrett comes back, trying again to get the formula from Holland, who again refuses.  So, Ferrett rigs a bomb underneath the lab table, and leaves.  Holland wakes up, sees the bomb, and as he goes to defuse it, watches it explode under the bio-restorative formula, burning Holland, and sending his flaming body running into the swamp to die.  

As Cable and Linda bury a coffin representing the presumed dead Alec Holland, and have the government restore the barn/laboratory, the swamp gathers together, creating the Swamp Thing with the memories of Alec Holland, who vows to protect Linda from returning evil.  Cable, Linda and the dog return to the lab, where the dog wanders off (listening to instructions on his secret transceiver) with Matt Cable chasing after the dog.  Ferrett and his men return, killing Linda.  Swamp Thing finds Linda's body, and, enraged, goes after and kills Ferrett and his men, with Matt Cable returning to witness the end of this story, promising to get answers, as Swamp Thing wanders off to his new home, the swamp.....unaware that he is being watched by something evil and Arcane.....

Later issues of Swamp Thing would introduce readers to Anton Arcane (who would become Swamp Thing's greatest foe), as well as his brother, Gregori, and niece, Abby (who would become the Swamp Thing's great love), as well as Arcane's Un-Men and many other menaces in the swamp and beyond.  

Swamp Thing's original run would last 24 issues, with Bernie Wrightson leaving art duties with issue #10, and Len Wein's last written issue being #13). 

Swamp Thing would have few appearances over the next few years, working with the Challengers of the Unknown and Deadman to fight Multi-Man and to find Rip Hunter in Challengers of the Unknown #83 to #87 in the 1970s, then helping Superman fight versions of Solomon Grundy in DC Comics Presents #8 (April, 1979), and meeting working with Batman in Brave and the Bold #176 (July, 1981), leading into a new Saga Of The Swamp Thing series.

Swamp Thing would come into conflict with the Sunderland Corporation during the course of the Saga Of The Swamp Thing, as well as grow closer to Abby, and battle Anton Arcane again.  

Swamp Thing would also learn uncomfortable truths about himself, and grow into a Protector of the Green, that dealt with the Parliament of Trees, which included others who were Earth Elementals, who had formed from similar accidents to Holland's, including Alex Olsen, who had taken root with the Parliament, and the two would meet as Swamp Thing learned of his real power thanks to John Constantine and his efforts to protect Earth from a coming battle of good and evil (as well as the Crisis On Infinite Earths), all the while, proving love is eternal, and sometimes, have two beginnings.

Happy Halloween Super Friends

Happy Halloween!

Ramona Fradon and Robert Allen Smith gave us the cover of Super Friends #28 (January, 1980) which teased a confrontation among DC's top heroes and most villainous monsters (but they were only magically transformed guests).

Here, a look at when these monsters first appeared, and when they met who they faced!

Bizarro

The first adult Bizarro version of Superman appeared in Action Comics #254 (July, 1959) by Otto Binder and Al Plastino as an imperfect duplicate of Superman created by Luthor, but, Superboy had faced an earlier Bizarro back in Superboy #68 (October, 1958), though that version was destroyed.

Swamp Thing

The Alec Holland version of Swamp Thing first appeared in Swamp Thing #1 (October-November, 1972) by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, a scientist burned in an accident and healed by the swamp.  He first met Batman in Swamp Thing #7 (November-December, 1973).

Demon

Etrigan the Demon first appeared in The Demon #1 (August-September, 1972) by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer, as an agent of Merlin, bonded to human Jason Blood during the fall of Camelot to fight evil.  He first met Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman #280 (June, 1981).

Man-Bat

Kirk Langstrom created a formula that turned him into a half-man, half-bat creature, called Man-Bat in Detective Comics #400 (June, 1970) by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.  While Batman and Man-Bat faced off in that issue, Robin didn't meet Man-Bat until Power Records 30 in 1976 in the aptly titled "Robin Meets Man-Bat".

Solomon Grundy

Now, Solomon Grundy first appeared in All-American Comics #61 (October, 1944) by Alfred Bester and Paul Reinman fighting the Golden Age Green Lantern as the animated corpse of Cyrus Gold, but, even with multiple encounters with the JLA...never really ran into Aquaman before the Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Though, well after, Aquaman and Solomon Grundy were in JLA: Year One #2 (February, 1998) in a retroactive retelling of the JLA's first year (which, itself, was a story of how five heroes became...super friends!).

How's that for a tricky treat?

Watching The Monitor: Swamp Thing, Blue Devil, Amethyst, and Warlord

Taking a supernatural turn, the Monitor and Lyla continue their investigation of all things in the DC Universe, this time exploring the magic contained within the multiverse.....

....with a look far and wide, going from the Hollywood hijinks of the Blue Devil, to the swamps of Louisiana, to the far off realm of Gemworld, and even deep into the Earth and the hidden land of Skartaris.

Viva Nebiros

First up is Blue Devil #5 (October, 1984) by Gary Cohn, Dan Mishkin, Paris Cullins and Gary Martin.  Dan Cassidy, the stuntman who was bonded into his mechanical suit by magic, becoming the hero known as Blue Devil, was facing the forces of the demon, Nebiros, with help from the JLA's Zatanna, all as the Monitor and Lyla watched their progress.

This story was reprinted in digest form in the Best of DC #61 (June, 1985).

A Halo Of Flies

Next up, is Saga Of The Swamp Thing #30 (November, 1984) by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and Alfredo Alcala, where Swamp Thing had ended a confrontation with old Atom foe, the Floronic Man/Jason Woodrue, as Jason was beginning to tap into the Green, the source of power for protector of the Bayou (with Monitor and the future Harbinger observing as even the Joker found these proceedings not worth a laugh).  The Monitor begins to show the depth of what he watches here....and the evil that was growing in Louisiana was getting worse, with Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane in the middle of it, with Matt Cable, or was he?

The Brimstone Ballet

Continuing with Swamp Thing, from Saga Of The Swamp Thing #31 (December, 1984) by Alan Moore, Rick Veitch and John Totleben, wherein the Monitor and Lyla watch the returned Anton Arcane (mystic foe of Swamp Thing and uncle of Abby Arcane, Swamp Thing's love), and all the horror that is unleashed at this time.

Both Swamp Thing stories has seen many reprints, most recently in both hardcover and softcover, in volume 2 of the Saga Of the Swamp Thing collections.

Sleepwalkers

Taking a slightly different look, Monitor and Lyla peer into the doings of Amethyst, young Amy Winston who was really a princess of the other world known as Gemworld in Amethyst #2 (February, 1985) by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, Ric Estrada and Romeo Tanghal, under a cover by Paris Cullins and Ernie Colon.


This story has only been reprinted in black and white in the Showcase Presents: Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld.

Demons Of Days Past

This time around, Monitor and Lyla looking into the lost world of Skartaris, in Warlord #90 (February, 1985) by Cary Burkett and Rich Buckler, with a cover by Rich Buckler and Dan Adkins.  They observe Travis Morgan, a USAF pilot who landed in this land in the center of the Earth, and a little of his battles with the primitive and sometimes supernatural forces that live there along with the woman he loves, native Tara.

This story establishes the Warlord as a part of the DC Universe, which Warlord creator Mike Grell would detest, even though later, Mike Grell did team Travis Morgan with Green Arrow in two issues of Green Arrow, after the Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Reminiscing

Last but not least this time around is Warlord #91 (March, 1985) by Cary Burkett, Dan Jurgens and Dan Adkins, with a cover by Rich Buckler.  The Monitor and Lyla look into the past of the Warlord and his daughter, Jennifer, as he prepares for a desperate battle.


Neither of the two Warlord tales have been reprinted.

Still many lands and times to be explored in the DC Universe, as Monitor and Lyla will continue to serve as our guides for now (as they had already taken a look at Wonder Woman's Paradise Island)....taking us to see the Justice Society of America, as well as Jonah Hex, Superman, Batman and the Outsiders and more, all as these heroes were being prepared for the Crisis On Infinite Earths!



 

DC Invasion Crossovers Part 1

Invasion! was a three issue mini series in 1988, by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo, Todd McFarlane, P. Craig Russell, Al Gordon, Josef Rubinstein, Tom Christopher, and Bart Sears, covering a gathering of the Alien Alliance (headed by the Dominators) to unite against the heroes of Earth.

The first issue was devoted entirely to the Alien Alliance, and the kidnapping of humans from Earth to be tested for a genetic anomaly....which some people on Earth were found to have, that allowed them to manifest super human abilities when hit with extreme stress or danger.

This first issue set the stage for First Strike and Aftermath (the second and third issues of the series), as well as the two issues of individual titles of the heroes of the DC Universe, some of which are detailed below.

Flash

The Flash of Invasion! was Wally West, who, being Kid Flash until the supposed death of his mentor, Barry Allen, fought on as the Flash.  Flash fought the Durlans (shape-changing aliens) in Cuba, where his father (Rudolph West) was also hiding in Flash #21 (1988), and Flash #22 (January, 1989), in issues by William Messner-Loebs, Greg LaRocque and Larry Mahlstedt, and Flash also worked with the Manhunter.

Manhunter

Manhunter was a man named Mark Shaw, who worked for the Manhunters (precursors to the Green Lantern Corps), but turned against them, and became a bounty hunter of super-villains.  Manhunter was paid by Wally's mom to go down to Cuba to help Wally (thus he also ended up fighting the Durlans as well, using his training and energy baton) in issues of Manhunter #8 (Holiday 1988) and #9 (January, 1989) by Kim Yale, John Ostrander, Frank Springer and Pablo Marcos, in tales intertwined with those of Flash and Invasion!

Checkmate

Ordinary men had to step up during the Invasion, and the knights of the secret government organization, Checkmate! were as likely as any to do the job.  Checkmate #11 (Holiday, 1988) dealt with humans working with the aliens to unseat the government in England, while Checkmate #12 (February, 1989) dealt with the knights keeping Cape Canaveral safe (and dealing with the Dominators last assault on mankind) in two stories by Paul Kupperberg, Steve Erwin and Al Vey.

Animal Man and Swamp Thing

Animal Man (the man with animal powers) and Swamp Thing (a powerful Earth Elemental both got a little involvement in the battle.  In Animal Man #6 (Holiday 1988 by Grant Morrison, Chas Troug and Doug Hazlewood), Buddy Baker (a.k.a Animal Man) faced off against a Thanagarian warrior and artist, with a little help from Hawkman, while Swamp Thing #81 (Holiday, 1988, by Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala) didn't have Swamp Thing in it (as the Dominators sent him away the issue before, fearing their plant-based technology would be vulnerable to a plant elemental), and this issue dealt with his wife, Abby Cable, dealing with a widowed alien.

Superman

Superman had two monthly titles at this time, so we deal with the First Strike issues of his here.  In Superman #26 (1988 by Roger Stern, Kerry Gammill and Brett Breeding), Superman dealt with the supernatural menace of Baron Sunday, as well as attacks by the Thanagarians and the machinations of Luthor and Brainiac, with Captain Atom looking for Superman, but only finding the Guardian (and a new Gangbuster emerging to help people in Metropolis as well).  In Adventures of Superman #449 (1988, by Jerry Ordway and Dennis Janke), Guardian fights Gangbuster while looking for Superman, finding the man of steel but losing Gangbuster.  Jimmy Olsen helps out, getting Superman to Captain Atom, and leading him to meet with the Dominators (and leading into Invasion! #2).

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is recruited to help by Black Canary in Wonder Woman #25 (1988 by George Perez, Chris Marrinan and Will Blyberg), helping the Justice League International against the warrior Khunds, while in Wonder Woman #26 (January, 1989, also by Perez, Marrinan and Blyberg), Wonder Woman works with Captain Atom and Etta Candy to free Steve Trevor from the shape-changing Durlans.

Captain Atom

Nuclear powered hero wrapped in an alien metal shell, Captain Atom, is recruited by the U.S. government to head up the response to the aliens in Captain Atom #24 (1988, by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, Pat Broderick and Romeo Tanghal), with the JLI's Maxwell Lord, the Suicide Squad's Amanda Waller and General Wale Eiling (secretly of the Captain Atom Project), and they find a Durlan spy disguised as Steve Trevor in their midst (leading back into Invasion! and the later Wonder Woman story).  In Captain Atom #25 (January, 1989, by Bates, Weisman, Broderick and Robert Smith), the heroes celebrate what they thought was a victory until situation change (leading into Invasion! #3).

Starman

Will Payton was a man struck by a beam from outer space, allowing him to control his density, fly and limited shape-change, which he used to become the hero, Starman.  Dealing with a group of powered people called the Power Elite, Starman is recruited into the Invasion in Starman #5 (Holiday, 1988 by Roger Stern, Tom Lyle and Robert Smith), after being kidnapped by a Durlan, and then fighting Khunds with Firestorm, Firehawk and Power Girl.  Then, after Invasion! #2, in Starman #6 (January, 1989 by Stern, Lyle and Smith), Will is part of clean-up duty across the world, along with Green Lantern, Atom, Power Girl and Blue Beetle, and runs into the Power Elite again as time for Earth runs out....

Invasion continues...

...and the 3 issue mini-series is collected in tradepaperback, with Animal Man's issue in the Animal Man TPB of 1991, Swamp Thing in Swamp Thing: Infernal Triangles TPB of 2007, and the Superman tales would make it into a Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 11 (if there is to be one), and the Wonder Woman issues would be in the second Wonder Woman by George Perez Omnibus due out in 2017, with the rest of the tales presented here needing collection.....

....and more tales to follow in a new column!