#paul levitz

This was the first issue of DC SPECIAL to go all-new, and which signaled the end of reprint comics at DC for the time being. There’d still be a few stragglers, but from this point forward, virtually everything the company published in regular comic book form (and even in Treasury format) would be original material. I bought it at the 7-11 because I already liked Captain Comet from the pages of SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER VILLAINS, so i was happy to see him headlining in another book. His strange co-star, Tommy Tomorrow, I didn’t have any feeling for one way or the other.

One of the big themes throughout the 1970s in comic book publishing was that everybody was looking for the next trend, the next big hit. After the boom of the Batman TV Show-era of the 1960s, super heroes were seen as a genre that was on its last legs and might soon fade away. As a result, there was a sustained rush to find something new that would interest young audiences just as much. Barbarian comics, weird/mystery comics, newish western comics, movie adaptations and continuations, literary adaptations–all sorts of things were tried. As it turned out, super heroes still had plenty of life in them. But all of that explains why this particular issue of DC SPECIAL is devoted to Dinosaurs. Maybe this would be the new hot-button trend that would move units.

For all that, this is still a super hero comic, and it opens with a strange meteoroid tearing across the cosmos both in 1977 near the Justice League satellite and simultaneously in 2056 in deep space, where Tommy Tomorrow is returning from an assignment. The meteoroid tears a gash in the fabric of time and space, drawing Tommy’s craft into the past and also getting the attention of Hawkman and Captain Comet, who are hanging out on the JLA satellite on monitor duty. The meteoroid further makes its way back to 100,000,000 BC, and the rift it’s created allows the dinosaurs living in that era to pass into the present day of 1977.

Back in the past, the radiations from the downed meteoroid mutate one of the native dinosaurs into the advanced humanoid Tyrano Rex, who proclaims the rock from space to be his god. Recognizing that their craft has been pulled into the past, Tommy Tomorrow and the Doctor he was escorting to treat a desperate plague situation in the Vega system head out to try to locate the meteoroid and work out a way to get home. They cross paths with Tyrano Rex, who orders his dinosaur brethren to attack them. All Tommy has is a handgun, and its charge will be depleted eventually, but it’s enough to fend off their attackers.

In the present, Hawkman leaves Captain Comet to hold down the fort while he ventures forth to rescue civilians imperiled by the dinosaurs. Comet uses the JLA monitors to check in on how other heroes are doing around the globe, and sees Chronos in front of a huge time portal. Thinking him a fellow hero, Comet streaks to his aid, figuring that the portal must be where the dinosaurs are coming from. He and Chronos fight side-by-side, and Comet’s mental telepathy tells him that Chronos is no hero, and that he’s actually responsible for this whole situation. Comet goes to try to close the portal, but Chronos intercedes–he’s after the meteoroid, too,and needs the portal to remain open until he can retrieve it for himself.

Back in the past, Tommy and the Doctor run the gantlet of savage dinosaurs, making their way back to their ship. They’ve seen the portal on their side, and realize that it’s the key to getting back to their own era. They direct their ship to fly towards the portal, and scoop up the meteoroid as they pass it, to power their journey back to the present. Unfortunately, they also get Tyrano Rex, who clings to his god-rock even as it is stolen.

So it’s a dual race, as Tommy and the Doctor try to hold off Tyrano Rex until their ship can get back to the future, while the time-corridor is closing because of Captain Comet’s efforts in 1977. The end result is that the ship, the meteoroid and Tyrano Rex all wind up coming through the portal in 1977. Tyrano shouts his claim over the rock, which tees Chronos off, and as the time-thief tries to get it away from the intelligent dinosaur-man, his shots go awry and wind up pulverizing the meteor.

Unfortunately, this causes Tyrano Rex to revert to his original dinosaur state, right in the middle of the city. Tommy uses his space-gun to distract the beast so that Comet can get the drop on him, and then summoning all his power, hurl him back through the closing portal. Meanwhile, his prize now lost, Chronos attempts to sneak away, but Tommy gets the drop on him, and holds him for Captain Comet (who he recognizes from the history books.) And then, in a short epilogue set back on the JLA satellite, Superman shows up, ready to take Tommy and his ship back to 2056 in plenty of time to avert that outbreak of plague. Hawkman and Captain Comet even get in a bit of good-natured ribbing.

Writer Bob Rozakis also contributed an amusing text page outlining how the story and project came about. There was also an uncredited history of Tommy Tomorrow text feature that looks to me like it could have been done either by editor Paul Levitz or, again, Rozakis. Apparently, this issue didn’t sell particularly well, as there were no further dinosaur-themed specials, nor for that matter solo stories featuring either Captain Comet or Tommy Tomorrow, not for a good while.

Another book that I think was bought by/for my brother Ken. I was not much of a fan of SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES at this point. As I’ve expressed previously, like other titles outside of the Julie Schwartz stable, it felt different to me in a way that I didn’t really care for. I’d go back to it from time to time for years, but it really wasn’t until the turn of the decade that I’d become a regular reader.

During this period, a number of different people were contributing stories to S&LSH. This particular issue was written entirely by Paul Levitz, who would go on to have a long history helming the series. But at this point, he was just a kid starting out, not really all that much older than I was. This particular scan is worth talking about, as it illustrates just how crappy the printing of comic books was at this point, due in part to the change from metal to plastic printing plates. Look at those credits–you virtually can’t make them out. Depending on where a particular book was in the print run of a given title, this sort of mush was a frequent occurrence throughout the 1970s.

This issue opens up with an angry Superboy disrupting the swearing-in ceremony of new Legion leader Wildfire. Turns out that the Boy of Steel was actually the top vote-getter, but given that he spent most of his time in his native 20th Century, he was ruled ineligible for the job, which went to Wildfire as teh number two candidate. (You’d have thought they’d have worked out the rules for eligibility BEFORE Superboy ran his campaign.) Either way, Superboy is uncharacteristically unhappy about it–and if you’re up on your Legion history, you can guess why and how this tale wraps up.

Anyway, Superboy storms off, and the Legion shortly after responds to an attack by the Resource Raiders, mysterious aliens who have been stealing the natural resources of planets throughout the U.P. Wildfire leads the team into action, but when he goes to employ his own energy powers, Superboy blocks his blast and commandeers control of the team. The Boy of Steel reveals that Wildfire’s discharge would have destroyed the very dam they were trying to defend. But subsequently, the Legionnaires compare notes and learn that there was no evidence of the explosive powder Superboy pointed out before he made his appearance. Curious.

That night, a shadowy figure visits the Hall of Legionnaires intent on stealing the spare Wildfire costume stored there. Wildfire himself interrupts the burglar, who is of course Superboy himself. They two fight it out–and it’s unclear whether the solitary figure that emerges from the scuffle is Wildfire himself or Superboy clad in his costume. This figure leads the Legion on a counterattack of the Resource Raiders (and dodges questions about how he knew where to find them in orbit without telescopic vision) and fights physically like Superboy before getting blown to smithereens by the enemy.

Superboy appears moments later, and while wrapping up the Raiders, reveals that it was truly Wildfire who was felled. The Legion’s computer had predicted that the new leader would be killed in his first major battle (shades of the death of Lightning Lad a decade earlier) and so Superboy tried to force his way into the role, assuming he’d be the toughest to kill. But the computer had made a mistake, assuming that Superboy would win the election (as he did) and that he’d be killed by the Kryptonite in the blast. As a dis-corporate energy being, Wildfire is just fine, and the two heroes patch up their differences.

S&LSH was still running back-up stories at this point, despite the fact that this sheer size of the Legion demanded longer stories. So the rest of the issue was devoted to a 6-page short in which Princess Projectra, Sun Boy and Timber Wolf simulate a demonic attack on an intergalactic starliner so as to lure out a superstitious serial killer without revealing their identities, as they’re also secretly body-guarding a diplomatic envoy whose presence cannot be revealed. It’s a nice, tight little tale, of the sort that you don’t much see in comics anymore.

From Worlds’ Finest Annual #1 by Levitz/Neves.

(don’t call Helena Wayne “Raven”)

The holiday season is upon us, but Mark and I devoted the month of November to celebrating Helena Wayne’s 41st anniversary by discussing All-Star Comics #70!

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Happy Halloween! For the spookiest day of the year, Mark and I decided to treat our audience to a double feature for our first official session. Diving right into the beginning of the Huntress’ lore, we talk about Helena Wayne’s first appearance in All-Star Comics #69 and her origin story in DC Super-Stars #17!

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Cometbus 57 is up in our shop, chock full of insightful interviews with important NYC comics figures Gabrielle Bell,Robin Enrico,Jeffrey Lewis,Julia Wertz,Bill Kartalopoulos,Gary Panter,Adrian Tomine,Ben Katchor,Paul Levitz,Drew Friedman,Karen Green,Gabe Fowler,Kim Deitch, and Al Jaffee.

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