#mini-series

All three episodes of the mini-series Thanksgiving will be aired on ARTE tv at 8:55 pm (CET, GMT+1) on February 28, 2019.

Blackhawkmini-series

Blackhawk was created by Chuck Cuidera, Will Eisner, and Bob PowellforQuality Comics.

Blackhawk was a title originally published by Quality Comics back in 1944. Blackhawk would continue to be published by Quality until 1956 (issue #107) in which, opting to withdraw from the comic book publishing business,Quality leased the characters to DC comics (then called National Periodical Publications).DC comics picked up where the series left off (at issue #108) and after a rocky publishing history managed to get the series as far as issue #273 before being cancelled for good in 1984.

The 1987 Blackhawk prestige format mini-series was the third revival of the title (revived in 1976 after a seven year hiatus and again in 1982 after a four year hiatus). For all intents and purposes, we can consider this the ‘post-Crisis’ Blackhawk reboot.

The premise of Blackhawk is pretty simple: it’s about an international squadron of WWII-era fighter pilots (led by a man named Blackhawk) who battle whatever the tyrannic force of the day was - so during the 1940s they mainly fought Germans. Of course, you’d never know this reading Chaykin’sBlackhawk revamp - as he pretty much expects the reader to already have some some of understanding of who or what Blackhawk is. My only knowledge of Blackhawk prior to this series were his few guest appearances in other DC titles during the late 70s/early 80s - so there was a bit of research needed to figure out what was going on.  

The big deal about this mini-series was that it was written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin.Chaykin had always been a somewhat controversial writer - trying to push the envelope in regards to adult themes as far as the Comics Code Authority would allow him to go. Most reviewers who have written articles about this mini-series always make a point of comparing it to Chaykin’sAmerican Flagg! (published by First comics from 1983 to 1988). Keeping this in mind, I read the first 20 issues of American Flagg! just so I’d have some sort of context as to what reviewers were basing their comments on. I recognized quite a few similarities between these titles: both Reuben Flagg and Blackhawk are 'men of uniform’, both Reuben Flagg and Blackhawk have vivacious sexual appetities, both titles feature a lot of Russian ('Bojemoi’), both use frequent media interludes (news clippings, radio, tv, etc) to give the reader some background as to what’s going on, and both titles have lots of (implied) sex and political power struggles at play.

A major sub-plot in this mini-series is Blackhawk (a man of Polish decent) being under investigation by the United States for being a communist sympathizer. This was not a new change Chaykin had made: originally Blackhawk was introduced as a Polish citizen back in Military Comics #1 (1941). Since the invasion of Poland was still news, Blackhawk creator/artist Bob Powell suggested that Blackhawk should be a Pole (with the intention of making the story topical). During the course of the original ongoing series (I think by the time the title is picked up by DC comics), Blackhawk’s nationality is retconned to American and he becomes an All-American hero. 

Reactions to this mini-series were mixed: many fans applauded Chaykin for his innovative visual style and fresh breath of life into the character, while others criticized that Chaykin’s depiction of an 'all too human’ Blackhawk was a huge departure from the selfless and stoic Blackhawk they grew up with. Nevertheless, Chaykin’sBlackhawk mini-series was successful enough that Blackhawk received a weekly feature in 1988’s Action Comics. Later, Blackhawk would receive it’s own ongoing series in 1989.

On the surface, this seems to just be another World War II era adventure where the hero is racing against time to stop the atomic bomb from falling into the hands of the enemy. However, Brannon Costello’sbrilliant essay on sub-themes in the mini-series exploring Chaykin’s views on Fascism and Mass Culture has encouraged me to go back and read over all of the subtleties I may have missed the first time. All in all, a very interesting book, but not the jumping on point I’d recommend for someone who wants to find out what Blackhawk’s all about. 

Underworldmini-series

Underworld was a 4-issue police procedural mini-series created/written by Robert Loren Fleming and illustrated by Ernie Colon. A police procedural is a genre of fiction that is different from crime/detective fiction, in which it focuses on a police force (or in this case, a select number in the police force) and the activites they partake in as they investigate/solve a crime. Popular examples of modern day police procedurals on television include CBS Television Studios’CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Streets.

I’m going to make an amateur speculation and presume that in 1987, in order to compete with the flood of new independent comics appearing on the direct market, DC began to get more experimental in it’s publishing selections. DC was now publishing more than just their ‘conventional’ super-hero titles - they were testing the waters for the revival of dormant comic book genres that they could hold a monopoly on (ex: sci-fi, pulp, fantasy, horror and sword & sorcery). DC was also publishing graphic novels and using the “suggested for mature readers” label more liberally in an attempt to gain the attention of the 'older comic buyer with money’ demographic that was so commonly found frequenting comic book shops. DC comics were not 'just for kids’ anymore. Crime comics (the predecessor of police procedural comics) were really popular in the 1940s and early 1950. They were so popular, in fact, that they were blamed for corrupting the morals of youth in Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent published in 1954. This, of course, caused a media backlash which ultimately led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority (CCA) and saw the drastic decline of crime comics in newsstands across North America (western comics pretty much filled the void crime comics left).

Historically speaking, police procedurals make for great TV shows and have been quite popular for as long as TVs have been broadcasting. Popular North American police procedurals during the 1980s include NBC’s Hill Street Blues andFox’s 21 Jump Street. It isn’t really a surprise to believe that DC would try experimenting with a new police procedural mini-series to see if there was a market for it.

Underworld really has nothing to do with the 'underworld’ (the title was misleading - I was expecting something about cop-killing mobsters) and deals primarily with the intertwined lives of four cops from a single precinct. The stories are self-contained (one story per issue), the characters have no interaction with the rest of the DCU (not even sure if they are in the same universe), the series is based on reality (so no aliens, monsters, super villains or etc), and the dialogue/content is unusually light-hearted for something marketed as being grim and gritty. The CCA seemed to have gotten more lax between 1954 and 1987, case in point: despite the images of blood and murder on the covers of this comic, every single issue has the CCA stamp of approval. The books give a lot of backstory to the characters and there is a sub-plot about a mysterious 'Knight Rider’-type fugitive car that runs through the mini-series that is never resolved, so I’m guessing Fleming left it open for the hope of an ongoing series. Unfortunately for Fleming, an ongoing series never materialized. Actually, this mini-series has pretty much been swept under the rug, as it was never collected as a reprint or trade paperback. DC would have much greater success with it’s Gotham Central police procedural ongoing series published in 2003.

Fun Fact: The longest-running police procedural comic strip/book to date is Dick Tracy.

Robert Loren Fleming had previously created/written the 1983 Thriller maxi-series and co-wrote an Ambush Bug mini-series with Keith Giffen before his published work on Underworld was released in 1987. He went on to work with Giffen again on Ambush Bug,Aquaman,Ragman and ultimately the Eclipso series where he would kill of a bunch of D-list superheroes in the early 90s.

The World of Krypton

WhenJohn Byrne was tasked with revamping Superman for the post-Crisis DCU, he had carte blanche to alter all of the Superman mythos - and that included Superman’s home world, Krypton. Krypton was always part of the Superman mythos from the get-go - first appearing as far back as Superman #1 (1939). Different writers gave different interpretations on Superman’s home planet, but we’re just going to skip all of that and talk about the changesByrnemade.

The first glimpse of the post-Crisis Krypton appeared in 1986’s Man of Steel mini-series (the story that re-introduced Superman’s origin to the post-Crisis DCU). If you’ve ever watched 1978’s Superman: the MoviefromWarner Bros, you may have recognized that Byrne adapted a lot of that movie into his new post-Crisis Superman reboot - I mean, the new Superman does look a lot like Christopher Reeve, no? So it might not surprise you to learn that Byrne also borrowed elements of the Superman movie’s Krypton (which was depicted as a stark, barren landscape with crystalline structures) and it’s inhabitants (sterile, emotionless, scientifically-advanced race of beings). This is a large contrast to the pre-Crisis Krypton in which all the Kryptonians seemed pretty down-to-earth and lived in a lush, technological-superior utopian world. Amazing Heroes #96 (1986) hasByrne quoted as saying that he intended for the post-Crisis Krypton to be depicted as a world that ought to be blown up, in order to demonstrate that Superman was very lucky to have arrived on earth. He didn’t want Krypton to be a place Superman would be nostalgic for. By Superman’s parents jettisoning him to another planet they gave him the gift of humanity (i.e.: emotions and feelings). This is a very important aspect of Superman, as it answers the question why Superman (an alien) cares so much for mankind and hasn’t imprisoned and enslaved us all.

A big part of the post-Crisis Superman reboot was Superman being ‘the LAST Kryptonian’ - Byrne’s destruction of Krypton effectively retconned the survival of Supergirl, Krypto, Beppo, Streaky or Comet the Super Horse.   

The World of Krypton expanded on the post-Crisis Krypton origin and gave the reader some sort of context as to why Krypton was the way it was and what led to it’s untimely destruction (involving a baby Superman being rocketed to earth). Another detail that Byrne introduced (in regards to Kryptonian culture) was the bodysuit* that is common wardrobe amongst Kryptonians - it was explained to be a life-sustaining device that slowed down aging or something like that. The mini-series also introduced Kryptonian warsuits (that mechanical exo-skeleton that Superman first returns in after he was killed by Doomsday in the early 90s) and a few other elements that would be generally accepted and built upon by other writers when Krypton was forever mentioned in the DCU.

I really enjoyed this mini-series. You’d never actually know it had anything to do with Superman until issue #3 (and Superman appearing on the cover of the first issue). It’s a really well-written sci-fi story written by Byrne with pencils by Mike Mignola and inking by Byrne. If anyone ever tells me that Byrne isn’t a good writer I will triumphantly wave this mini-series this in their face as a counterargument.

This mini-series was part of a 3-part collection by Byrne meant to re-establish Superman’s origin. The other mini-series’ were: World of SmallvilleandWorld of Metropolis.

All three of these mini-series’ were published during the Millenniumcross-over.

*see house ad: black unitards with white lace running up the arms

Shazam! The New Beginning

Fawcett Publications more or less shut down it’s comic book publishing division and sold off the majority of their characters to rival comic book companies in 1953 - this was the aftermath of a twelve-year legal battle with DC comics over allegations of Fawcett’s Captain Marvel being a copyright infringement of DC’s Superman. Part of the settlement included Fawcett never publishing another Captain Marvel or Mavel Family comic book again. You can find more information about the lawsuit at National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications.

In 1972, DC comics licensed the rights to Captain Marvel (and associated characters) from Fawcett Publications with the intention of taking advantage of the fanfare Captain Marvel had built up in the 1940s. DC comics were no longer able to use the name ‘Captain Marvel’ however, since Marvel Comics had trademarked the name in 1968. Thus, DC renamed 'Captain Marvel’ to 'Shazam!’.

In the 1970s, DC had used Shazam! to full effect - not only did he receive an ongoing series in 1973, but he was also the lead character in a 1974 live-action television series (Filmation’sShazam!) and starred in two episodes of NBC’sLegends of the Superheroes in 1979. Despite all of the publicity DC put into Shazam, it did not sell as well as it *should* have. DC cancelled the Shazam! ongoing series in 1978 after 35 issues, and Shazam!’s adventures continued in the pages of World’s Finest. Apparently, Fawcett’s licensing agreement with DC had a per-use fee for every appearance a Fawcett character made in a DC publication, hence DC’s reluctance to use the characters after the Shazam! series ended.

In 1981, Captain Marvel got ANOTHER crack at television - this time in an animated cartoon produced by Filmation that ran from 1981 to 1982. NBC’sThe Kid Power Hour with Shazam! ran on Saturday mornings, featured Captain Marvel as well as of the Marvel Family and their associated rogues, and lasted 13 episodes.

Sometime in the early 1980s, Roy Thomas,Don Newtonand Jerry Ordway submitted a proposal for a new Captain Marvel. This new version of Captain Marvel would be an Earth-One character (as Shazam! and the rest of the Marvel Family in the 70s Shazam! ongoing series were part of the Earth-S/Earth-5 universe) and would be an African-American character who would turn into Captain Thunder when he said the word “Shazam”. Calling this new character 'Captain Thunder’ was obviously a throwback to the original Fawcett version of the character (Captain Marvel was originally intended to be named Captain Thunder, but couldn’t - due to trademark reasons). The proposal never saw approval from the DC editorial board.

In 1985 the Crisis On Infinite Earths cross-over event happened, which was DC’s effort to simplify it’s continuity by eliminating all of those 'other’ earths in the DC multiverse (Earth-S/Earth-5 included). Shazam and the Marvel Family were now part of the same DC universe as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. For reasons I cannot explain, DC decided to publish a re-adaptation of the Shazam!/Captain Marvel origin (as per the Fawcett Publications version) in Secret Origins #3 (1986). This is a little confusing to me since Roy Thomas retconns Shazam!/Captain Marvel’s origin once again in the Shazam! The New Beginningmini-series.

As explained by Roy Thomas, the goal of this mini-series was to re-introduce the Shazam!/Captain Marvel mythos back to DC readers, but in a way that was more in line with the current state of comic books. The theory was that the reason why DC’s Shazam! never hit the astonomical sales numbers of it’s Fawcett Publications heyday was because the stories were too silly/whimsical for the modern audience - the new modern audience wanted more realistic stories/art that could relate to the world they lived in. So, Roy and (his wife) Dann Thomas got to work scripting the new Shazam!/Captain Marvel reboot.

Major changes Thomasintroduced:

• Dr Sivana became Billy’s evil uncle
• Uncle Dudley became Billy’s real uncle
• Billy kept his own personality when becoming Shazam! (versus switching between his and Captain Marvel’s personality - as seen in Fawcettissues)
• Black Adam is quickly introduced and is part of Captain Marvel’s origin
• No plans of introducing Lieutenant Marvels
• Fawcett city is removed, Shazam! now operates on the West Coast of the USA
• A little more insight into Billy Batson’s life before the death of his parents is given. This is meant to flesh out the character of Billy Batson.
• origin of Wizard Shaman set before age of pyramids in Egypt - mentions “God-Birds” (I am 99.9% sure they are sliding in a Hawkman reference here)
• the Wizard Shazam is aware of the pre-Crisis Marvel family from Earth-S/Earth-5
• Dr Sivana is no longer a humorous villain, he is now deadly and a threat to be taken seriously.

On a side note, Thomas originally wanted to make Billy a more typical kid with a typical job, but the first issue ofLEGENDS got plotted and penciled before the LEGENDS creative team were made aware of Thomas’ new plans for the character. Shazam! The New Beginning was actually a prequel to the LEGENDS mini-series (although this mini-series would only be published as LEGENDS was ending), and Shazam! became a member of Giffen’s Justice League in 1987. Shazam! even got an action figure of himself in the third wave of Kenner’sSuper Powers Collection toyline (1986).

Illustrated by artist Tom Mandrake, the mini-series was a great read and did really well in sales. According to Thomas, when the possibility of an ongoing series was discussed, the idea was shot down by DC management. Shazam! later appeared in 1988’s Action Comics Weekly for a few issues and a new Shazam! ongoing series was announced, but the idea never saw the light of day. Some have speculated that the reason the idea never went anywhere was because DC didn’t completely own the rights to Shazam! (Filmation acquired the television rights to Captain Marvel in the 1970s), and didn’t want to invest heavily in a character they weren’t guaranteed would actually belong to them.

DC would ultimately purchase the full rights to Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family fromFawcett publications in 1991 and Jerry Ordway would go on to reboot the Shazam!/Captain Marvel origin yet again in DC’s Power of Shazam! 1994 graphic novel.

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