Celebrating Artist Joe Staton

Celebrating artist Joe Staton on his birthday (January 19, 1948), here with his last two issues of Green Lantern Corps...#221 (February, 1988), featuring a Millennium crossover, and #222 (March, 1988), featuring what looked like a final end to Sinestro (which actually led to the end of the Green Lantern Corps!).

Joe was also busy at this time, drawing all eight issues of Millennium!

Celebrating Artist Joe Staton

Celebrating the birthday of artist Joe Staton (January 19, 1948) with a look at Year One of one of the characters Joe was most associated with...Guy Gardner.

In Guy Gardner #11 (August, 1993), Guy is kidnapped by the alien Draal, who want to make use of his talents, so they replicate him (forcing Guy to relive memories of his family....dad, Rolly; mom, Peg and brother, Mace) as they make a replicant of him.  

Guy works with other former Green Lanterns the Draal have kidnapped (including Graf, Bivvix, RRU-9-2 and Voz) to escape.  Eventually they do, and Guy gets back to Earth to confront his clone....who has made a mess of the Justice League America (in issues of their title running concurrently with this saga).

Guy Gardner #11 and #12 (August and September, 1993)

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Guy Gardner #13 and #14 (October and, November 1993)

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Guy Gardner #15 (December, 1993)

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Celebrating Artist Joe Staton

Celebrating the birthday of Eisner Award winning artist, Joe Staton (January 19, 1948) with a Showcase of his covers featuring Power Girl!

Joe handled covers and art for Power Girl's appearances in Showcase, and followed her back to All-Star Comics to finish up that run with the Justice Society of America in the 1970s!

Showcase #97 and #98 (February and March, 1978)

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Showcase #99 and All-Star Comics #72 (April and May-June, 1978)

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All-Star Comics #73 and All-Star Comics #74 (July-August and September-October, 1978)

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Celebrating The Super Heroic Joe Staton

Celebrating the birthday of artist Joe Staton (January 19, 1948) with a look to the future and the past...

...featuring the covers he drew (with inker Dick Giordano) for Superboy and the Legion Of Super-Heroes!

Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #247 and #248 (January and February, 1979)

Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #249 and #250 (March and April, 1979)

Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #251 (May, 1979)

A truly talented artist, with a long and varied career, as you can see here, and even a little Christmas spirit as well with this tale!

Happy Birthday Joe Staton

Happiest of birthdays to artist Joe Staton, born January 19, 1948!

 

Over the years, Joe has drawn a lot of friendly characters in comics....

 

...and here's a little "Showcase" of them, including...

 

 

...Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps...

 

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...including Guy Gardner...

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...old and New Guardians...

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...E-Man, Nova and all their friends...

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...the Creature Commandos and Superboy & The Legion of Super-Heroes...

...most of the DC Universe...

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...the Justice League of America...

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...and the Justice Society of America...

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...including Huntress and Power Girl!

For all this and more (like current work on Dick Tracy with Mike Curtis in the newspapers), thank you Joe Staton, and happiest of birthdays!

Christmas Carol 1990

In December, 1990, First Comics gave us as part of its Classics Illustrated line as issue #16, an adaptation of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol by writer/artist Joe Staton and a painted cover by Gary Gianni.




A beautiful way to find the meaning of Christmas, sure to warm the heart of any Scrooge!

Charlton's Emergency Comics

Emergency was a TV series that focused on the new at the time profession of emergency medical response teams created by Jack Webb, Robert A. Cinader and Harold Jack Bloom as a spin off of Webb's Adam-12 police series.  The focus of the show was on Fire Station 51 personnel John Gage (played by Randolph Mantooth) and Roy DeSoto (played by Kevin Tighe), as they provided emergency on-location medical support for the emergency room of Rampart General Hospital, who's staff included Dr. Kelly Brackett (played by Robert Fuller), nurse Dixie McCall (played by Julie London) and neurosurgeon Dr. Joe Early (played by Bobby Troup).   

The show lasted for six seasons, starting on January 15, 1972 and going until March 26, 1977, with six made for TV movies in 1978 and 1979 focusing on the lives of those who saves lives in the Los Angeles area.

The Emergency Comic Book

Charlton made 4 issues of a color comic book based on the Emergency TV show, running from June, 1976 to December, 1976 following the adventures of John and Roy as they did their business of helping those in danger!

The stories were written by Joe Gill, and cover art was by Joe Staton for issue #1 and #2, and by Jack Sparling for issue #3 and #4, with interior art in issue #1 by a young John Byrne, and the later 3 issues by Demetrio Sanchez Gomez.


 

The Emergency Magazine

Charlton also put out 4 magazine editions of Emergency, being in black and white except for the cover, from July, 1976 to January, 1977.

These magazines featured multiple stories per issue, with Emergency #1 having stories by Joe Gill, Nicola Cuti and Mike Pellowski and art by Continuity Associates (a group organized by cover artist, Neal Adams).  Emergency #2 also had stories by Nicola Cuti, Mike Pellowski and Joe Gill, and art by Continuity Associates and cover by Neal Adams.

Emergency #3 had stories by Nicola Cuti, Mike Pellowski and Joe Gill, interior art by Continuity Associates, and a painted cover by Earl Norem.  Earl also painted the cover for Emergency #4, and interior stories were written by Nicola Cuti, Joe Gill and Mike Pellowski, and art by Win Mortimer for the first two, and by Jack Sparling for the third.



These books, along with the TV show, stand as a tribute to those whose job it is to run towards the danger....the real heroes!

Batman Meets Himself In Brave and the Bold

Holy multiple Batman, Batman!

After over 75 years in the comic industry, Batman has changed a little bit over the years since Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939)...

...and here's a few stories that help show those changes as the Silver Age (or Earth-1) Batman meets a few Golden Age (or Earth-2) members of the Batman family!

Face Yourself

In Brave and the Bold #200 (July, 1983), writer Mike W. Barr, with artist Dave Gibbons (and all under a stunning cover by premiere Batman artist, Jim Aparo), tells a tale late in the original Batman's career, where he faced Brimstone (a villain with a devilish theme, good enough to make it into 1950s comics, or even the 1966 Batman TV show)...

...and Brimstone was defeated (at least for the 1950s...). 

A few decades later, and Brimstone wanted to revenge himself on the original Batman, but is unable to due to the passing of Earth-2's Batman, so Brimstone takes over the body of his Earth-1 counterpart and menaces the (at the time) current version of Batman.

A fun little story even if the two Batmen don't meet, and the issue contains the first appearance of Batman and the Outsiders as well!

One of the biggest differences at the time (besides the yellow oval) was that 1950s Batman still had Robin as a partner....

The Ex-Boy Wonder

Now with Brave and the Bold #182 (January, 1982), the modern Batman was given an "Interlude On Earth-Two" thanks to writer Alan Brennert and artist Jim Aparo, where he met with the original Batman's now grown-up partner of Robin!

The Batman of Earth-1 also met two people he considered to be ghosts, Batwoman and Hugo Strange (both who had just passed on Earth-1, but were still alive on Earth-2).  Seems the original Batman's foes were all ready to kill Batman, and not that happy that they couldn't...

This story established that some of Batman's later 1950s stories must also have happened in the lives of both Batmen, and it was a touching tale of how to deal with loss.

This story was reprinted in the Secrets of the Batcave tradepaperback as well...

...and more history of the original Robin has been covered here too!

Darknight Daughter

Earth-2 must have been on Mike W. Barr's mind as well, as he gave us a Christmas take on cross-Earth Bat-family meetings (along with artist Jim Aparo) with Brave and the Bold #184 (March, 1982) and "The Batman's Last Christmas".

Batman discovers that his father, Thomas Wayne, may have been involved in the Gotham crime scene...as a criminal! 

Luckily for the Earth-1 Batman, his "niece" from Earth-2, the daughter of the original Batman, Helena Wayne, a.k.a. Huntress, came over for a visit..

...and the two of them worked it out, as well as dealing with the loneliness the holidays can bring!

This story made it into the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Volume 2 tradepaperback of 2007, and the Huntress had the majority of her earliest solo appearances including her first appearance and origin in DC Super-Stars #17 (November-December, 1977, by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Bob Layton) gathered in the Huntress: Darknight Daughter tradepaperback of that year as well (and this was the Huntress that was the inspiration for the Huntress of the Birds of Prey TV series as well!).

Crossing the Cat's Path

With all of this, you might wonder who the Huntress' mother was, and she was a foe of the original Batman, Catwoman! 

Her part in Huntress' origin was covered pretty well in Huntress' origin in DC Super-Stars #17, but there was still a little more of the tale to be told, and that was told in Brave and the Bold #197 (April, 1983), by Alan Brennert and Joe Staton (and cover by Jim Aparo).

This issue also dealt with a lonely Batman, but this time it was the original, Golden Age, Earth-2 Batman, and his fear was made that much worse by the master of fear, the Scarecrow!

This could be considered a "zero issue" for the Huntress, as it detailed how Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were finally able to reveal their feelings for each other, and put the masks behind.

A truly touching tale, reprinted in the original Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1988 and the tradepaperback of 1989.

All of this shows how much Alan Brennert, Mike W. Barr, Jim Aparo and Joe Staton have given to the legend of Gotham and it's hero, the Batman...and their work is appreciated!  It also shows that Brave and the Bold helped Batman's mythology as well, expanding and exploring the Batman family and finding the man behind the mask!

 

Six Million Dollar Man Bionic Comics

"Gentleman, we can rebuild him.  We have the technology.  We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man....Better than he was before.  Better.  Stronger.  Faster."

If you were a child of the 1970s, that coda lead you into an hour of adventure (regular episodes from 1974 to 1978) with Colonel Steve Austin...the Six Million Dollar Man.  Steve was a cyborg, who had a bionic arm, eye and two legs, and was assigned missions for the OSI (Office of Scientific Intelligence, a branch of the United States government) by Oscar Goldman (his friend and boss, and the reader of that statement opening the episodes).  On the television of the time, the Six Million Dollar Man was the closest there was to a super hero (the Incredible Hulk show didn't start until 1977, though episodes were written of that show by Kenneth Johnson, who also wrote for the Six Million Dollar Man; and we were nowhere near the current explosion of live action comic book super shows like the Spider-Man, Flash, Human Target, Birds of Prey, Painkiller Jane, Smallville, Arrow, Constantine, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Flash again!). 

Col. Austin even went the opposite way...and headed into the world of comics!

Six Million Dollar Man Comics

At Charlton, there were 9 issues of the Six Million Dollar Man comic books from June 1976 to June 1978.  Issues were written by Joe Gill - #1, 4-9 and Nicola Cuti - #2, drawn by Joe Staton - #1-6, Demetrio Sanchez Gomez - #5-7, Pat Boyette -  #7 and Fred Himes #8-9, and had covers by Joe Staton - #1, Neal Adams - #2, Hector Castellon - #3, Jack Sparling -  #4-6, and Fred Himes #7-9. 

During these issues, Steve faced spies, robots, sharks, dimension hopping villains and even a mad scientist using his Kenner action figure against him! 

Sadly, reoccurring series foes like the Bigfoot or Mars Rover did not make the transition into the comic books...but in the days pre-DVD, this was the only way to relive adventures of your favorite hero!

Six Million Dollar Man Magazines

Due to the Comic Code Authority, and a desire to expand into the magazine market (and these were the days before the internet, so information behind the scenes on TV shows was limited), Charlton also published the Six Million Dollar Man magazine, which had 7 issues from July 1976 to November 1977, and though the covers were in color, the stories inside were in black & white (and had a slightly more adult feel to them...).

Issues were written by Joe Gill, - #1-4, 7 Nicola Cuti - #1-3, 5, 6, Mike Pellowski - #1-7, and George Wildman - #6, drawn by Continuity Associates (Neal Adams, Steve Austin, Terry Austin, Joe Barney, Joe Brozowski, Rick Bryant, Karin Daugherty, Dick Giordano, Klaus Janson, Bruce Patterson, Carl Potts, Mark Rice and Josef Rubinstein)  - #1-3 and Jack Sparling - #3-5, #6 and 7 by the Jack Sparling Studio and had covers by Neal Adams - #1 and #2, Jack Sparling - #3, and Earl Norem - #4-7 as well as features on Lindsay "Jamie Sommers" Wagner and Richard "Oscar Goldman" Anderson in #1 and behind the scenes features (necessary in the pre-internet days, mostly on series star, Lee Majors)!

The magazine even had articles of the Bionic Woman...Jaime Sommers!

Bionic Woman Comics

Charlton kept up with the Bionic universe by adding a Bionic Woman comic, starring Jaime Sommers!  It lasted 5 issues from October 1977 to June 1978, with art in all issues by Jack Sparling...but no writing credits to be found!


Mostly ordinary adventures here...but never with Steve and Jaime teaming up (which they did on the shows, mostly to face the Fembots and the aliens behind Bigfoot).

Return of the Bionic Man (and Woman) to Comics

Steve Austin returned to comics as the Bionic Man for Dynamite Comics in August, 2011, with comics based on the original series written by Kevin Smith & Phil Hester, with art by Jonathan Lau (one cover by Alex Ross based on the magazine's first cover), based on an idea for a Six Million Dollar Man movie by Kevin Smith.

This series included Steve, Jaime, Oscar, Dr. Rudy Wells..even Bigfoot!

It also spun off a Bionic Woman comic, lasting ten issues from April 2012 to July 2013, and a mini-series, The Bionic Man vs. The Bionic Woman, of five issues from January to May, 2013.

These weren't quite the classic Lee Majors' Six Million Dollar Man....but at least it gave the fans what they were looking for, more adventures of the whole bionic family!

And then...

Six Million Dollar Man Season Six

Dynamite picks up where the TV series ended, and starts Season 6...with the Six Million Dollar Man Season 6 comic!  Issue #1 is written by Jim Kuhoic and art by Juan Antonio Ramirez, with covers by Alex Ross and Ken Haeser!

This story also introduces the Kenner toy-line character of Maskatron to the TV version of Col. Steve Austin...as well as an alien menace!

Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin is back...Better, Stronger, Faster!