Super Friends of DorothyComics discussions, with flair…

VERSUS

The scene shifts to idyllic winds as Zatanna is gliding along via wind currents to alight onto Paradise Island where she is promptly greeted by Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and Wonder Woman’s mother and other various Amazon warriors.  Zatanna inquires if Wonder Woman has been there and Hippolyta confirms that Diana came to Paradise Island and made a bee line for the Temple of Athena.

Inside the temple we see Wonder Woman lifting a large slab while underneath it lies the Appellaxian meteor.  Before Wonder Woman can put her hands on the meteor, Zatanna has cast a spell “off panel” to cause the meteor to fall further down into the Earth.  Diana immediately questions her mother as to who this stranger is and Hippolyta confirms who she is that she is a friend, but Diana does not know her and she is not even sure she knows her own mother.  Diana lifts the slab and throws it at both of the women.

As Zatanna shields herself and Hippolyta against Wonder Woman’s attack, Diana has unearthed the meteor and is making haste for her Invisible Jet.  Zatanna tries one more time to stop the Amazon from escaping, casting a spell to draw water from the ocean to overwhelm Wonder Woman, but to no avail.  Diana uses her Golden Lasso to spin so fast that it redirects the flood right at Zatanna and Hippolyta.  Wonder Woman escapes and Zatanna lies there unconscious only to be revived shortly by the Healing Purple Ray of Amazonian science.

Hippolyta informs Zatanna that she tried to reach her daughter via mental radio but Diana was not answering.  Zatanna reiterates what we already know, the Original JLAers are being controlled.  But by who?  Why?  And what does it have to do with the meteors?

Just a few notes in this chapter:

Paradise Island as it is called at this time is forbidden to be trod upon by all men by the Gods.   That being the case the League could send either Black Canary, a martial artist with a sonic cry or Zatanna, a sorceress of some power to fight Diana.  While they chose Zatanna, I have to opine that neither of the ladies of the League stood a chance versus Diana.

The Amazons of the DC Universe are indeed that fabled race of woman warriors from the tales of Homer and while many of them are faceless throngs in crowd shots of fighting, we will talk about the important Amazons at another time.  Again, no need to give you all that right now.   The Amazons worship the Greek Gods and they are a major part of Wonder Woman’s supporting cast, hence her calling out “Great Hera!” or such when in battle.

Zatanna on the other hand is a witch, whether in the wiccan tradition or not, its obvious that her magical abilities are amped up beyond what a real practicing witch would have, so the symbols in the art piece above is not implied in any way to include satanism or demon worship.  She is half human, half Homo Magi, so we have no idea what those symbols mean to her.

Again, these are fictional constructs which borrow bits and pieces from reality in order to forge a fun fictional world.

Next time:  Green Lantern vs. The Atom

VERSUS

This chapter starts out with a new character that we have not seen before, the Phantom Stranger, who breaks the “fourth wall” of the comic book and addresses the reader directly.  The Phantom Stranger looks fairly well dressed for his name, fedora hat concealing his eyes In shadows, a long flowing blue cape, a black suit with a gold medallion.    He sets the mood of the Indian Ocean and seems to already know that a battle is about to occur.

Aquaman begins his search for his asteroid only to be stopped in mid leap by the winds of the Red Tornado.  Reddy tries to get the Sea King to listen to reason but Aquaman under the thrall of the Appellaxians assumes he is an unknown opponent and tackles Reddy sending him under the sea to a watery grave.

The Red Tornado recalls his loved ones and manages to get himself back in action and drives towards the surface.  Aquaman retrieves the meteor and is going to be taking it back to the JLA Headquarters outside of Metropolis.  Aquaman has no idea why he is doing what he is doing he just knows that he must do it.  At this point the Phantom Stranger appears to interfere, as he seems to direct lightning to shock the incoming Red Tornado, defeating him.  Neither Red Tornado nor Aquaman saw or interacted with the Phantom Stranger in this encounter.

As Aquaman speeds off with his meteor, The Phantom Stranger leans over Red Tornado’s form and explains to the reader that if one of the original JLAers would be defeated it would lead to defeat to all the JLA so he had to choose.  He then claims that these choices he makes are never easy but they are his curse.

The scene shifts to the satellite JLA hq where Snapper Carr and Firestorm are becoming acquainted.  It should be noted that Snapper got his nickname from snapping his fingers constantly, he is a product of the “beatnik” era.  As the male bonding continues a loud thud is heard.  Red Tornado has reappeared in the satellite without using the teleporters.  Dr. Stein (Firestorm’s other half) diagnoses that the Red Tornado has received a severe electrical shock so Firestorm takes him to sick bay, leaving Snapper and Firestorm to wonder how the Red Tornado got back on the satellite.

When we chat next… it’s Girl on Girl action

Wonder Woman versus Zatanna

VERSUS

We open our story as Firestorm is enjoying a JLA tradition called Monitor Duty.  A period where the JLA assigns a hero to “man the headquarters” to keep an eye and ear out for any trouble.  It is interminably boring duty and Firestorm being the team rookie is not taking it all that seriously.

Just then the Martian Manhunter bursts through the hull of the JLA’s satellite headquarters demanding to know why the JLA headquarters has been abandoned and where the other JLAers are and who the heck is Firestorm anyway?  Before Firestorm gets a chance to answer any of those questions he is prompted by Professor Stein to seal the hull in the satellite before all their oxygen escapes.  Manhunter continues his questioning and then ignores Firestorm as too dim witted to chat with (he was talking with himself after all) and as Firestorm pursues him Manhunter uses an ancient Martian trick and goes all invisible.

While Firestorm is dumbstruck by the Manhunter’s disappearance, Prof. Stein points out to Ronnie that the Martian Manhunter seemed to try to avoid Firestorm’s flaming hair, correctly deducing that the Martian Manhunter has a weakness to fire.  Sure enough as Firestorm heats the air in the satellite, J’onn’s powers begin to give way and he becomes visible again.  But before Firestorm can get anywhere, J’onn just skips the formalities and throws a huge trophy case at Firestorm.

Firestorm counters this move by setting the trophy case J’onn picks up on fire which causes J’onn pause.  Manhunter uses his martian vision to cut a water pipe to not only dowse the fire but to distract Firestorm long enough for him to rip up some of the floor and throw it right at the nuclear man with all his strength.  This knocks Firestorm unconscious and Martian Manhunter grabs the meteor and leaves the headquarters.

One for the Old Guard.

Firestorm wakes up and sounds the biggest alarm the JLA has and all the non-charter members show up, including the recently resigned Green Arrow.  Based on the story Firestorm tells the gathered Leaguers, Green Arrow and Elongated Man deduce all the other original Leaguers must be off gathering the other meteors, but for what reason?  Even the Martian Manhunter did not know why he was acting as he did, he was just compelled to do so.

The JLA transporter hums up again and out steps Snapper Carr.  Snapper is the JLA’s sidekick/mascot from the early days of the League.  It turns out that Firestorm’s signal even signaled his old signal device.  The other JLAers leave Snapper and Firestorm on the satellite and head off to stop their comrades from retrieving the other meteors.

When next we chat…

Aquaman vs. The Red Tornado, with a special guest star.

Secret Origin is one of those phrases that makes fanboys titter with glee.  You get to discover the beginning of things.  How did this character get those powers?  that costume?  that hair?  Origin stories are constantly revisited, revised, and revamped.  So, I take the approach that any Secret Origin story is never going to tell us everything we need to know and there is plenty of room for a comics creator to come in later and change things.

In the case of the Justice League of America, the origin of the team is rather simple and if you have seen any 1950-1960s sci-fi the plot will sound oddly familiar.

Seven asteroids crash on Earth.  Inside each asteroid is a monster, an alien overlord just waiting to take over the Earth.  The creature bursts from its meteor shell and begins to turn the surrounding inhabitants into duplicates of itself to act as soldiers in it’s quest to destroy the other asteroid overlords that are using Earth as a battleground.

Meteors land in Denver, the Indian Ocean, Paradise Island, the African Savannah, the Lombardy Plain in Italy, the Everglades, and Antarctica.

The Martian Manhunter met and defeated the Rock God in Denver.  Aquaman handled the Glass Golem in the Indian Ocean.  Wonder Woman defended Paradise Island from the Mercury Monster.  Green Lantern managed a win against the Golden Roc.  Flash outpaced the Fire Lord in Italy.

The five heroes independently show up at the American Everglades to defeat the next monster.  In all the previous instances the radiation that turned the locals into duplicate soldiers was emitted by the alien itself, but the Wood King inside this meteor had thought ahead and he programmed his meteor to exude this radiation as well, surprising our heroes, they turned into wooden creatures sprouting roots, limbs and leaves.

Using team work and their powers they managed to free themselves from the Wood King’s influence.  Aquaman slammed his hand into Green Lantern’s exposing his power ring.  GL used his ring to free the Martian Manhunter’s head from the wood.  Manhunter used his breath to blow Flash so that he would knock Wonder Woman into the path of Green Lantern’s ring.  This freed Diana and her golden lasso, which soon made splinters out of the Wood King.

Once the five heroes were completely freed of the wood prisons they went in search of the last meteor.  In Antarctica, Superman and Batman were already fighting the seventh alien.  Superman had succumbed to the radiation of the meteor which was made out of Green Kryptonite.  Batman managed to lasso the meteor with his Batplane to get the fatal radiation away from Superman, who once recovered turned the Crystal Creature into coal.

The seven heroes unite and discuss what occurred and decide to band together to handle threats that they each cannot battle on their own.  They become the Justice League of America.  They bury the remnants of the Appellax meteors where they landed, keeping one in a lead case as a souvenir of their first case.

The Appelaxian invaders are defeated.  Job well done Justice League!  Or was it?

For issue #200, the Appellaxians make a big come back and the Justice League is a League divided.

First off though, some people who are NOT fictional that you need to know.

Writer – Gerry Conway

Artists – Jim Aparo, Terry Austin, Brian Bolland, Brett Breeding, Pat Broderick, Frank Giacoia, Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, and George Perez.

Colorist – Carl Gafford

Letterer – John Costanza

Technical Advisor – Roy Thomas

Editor – Len Wein

These are the real men behind this book that we are spending a lot of time talking about so they deserve the credit for the work here.  I know they may not mean something to the comics novice out there, but trust when I say, these are some of the most talented people to work in comics at this point in the medium and their work influences talent to this day.  We’ll get more indepth on them later, but for now, credit where credit is due.

When next we meet, it will be because the Justice League has been divided… It will be the Old Guard vs. the Rookies.  Who will win?  Who will lose?

Of course, after the Justice League of America (JLA) began back in 1960 times have changed and new characters were added to the mix of the original seven.

Green Arrow – The Emerald Archer.  Oliver Queen was a millionaire who was on a yacht when he was tossed overboard (on purpose or accidentally) .   Ollie landed on a deserted island where he taught himself archery in order to survive.  Upon returning to the main land and civilization, Ollie kept using his unsurpassed archery skills to fight against injustice.

The Atom – The Mighty Mite.  Physics Professor Ray Palmer discovered a chunk of white dwarf star matter that could shrink items for a time, unfortunately everything he shrank turned unstable and exploded.  Forced to use this technology to save a group of college students, Ray discovered that for some reason his body did not turn unstable.  Donning a size changing belt and gloves to control his size and weight Ray became The Atom.  The Atom is married to a lawyer named Jean Loring.

Hawkman – The Winged Wonder.  Katar Hol is a police officer from the planet Thanagar.  He and his partner/wife, Shayera, came to Earth in pursuit of a shape changing criminal.  Once on Earth they decided to stay to assist Earth in its protection.  Wearing a harness with wings, a uniform tinged with an antigravity metal called Nth Metal, and using ancient Earth weapons Katar took the earth name of Carter Hall and became a curator in a museum during the day and fought alien menaces at night.

Black Canary – The Blonde Bombshell or The Pretty Bird of Prey.  Dinah Drake Lance is an extremely accomplished martial artist possessing a sonic scream called The Canary Cry.  Dinah is in a relationship with Green Arrow.  I am omitting a bit about her origin, trust me we will cover it later, but for right now, that’s all you need to know.

Elongated Man – The Ductile Detective or Stretchable Sleuth.  Ralph Dibny was fascinated with the “Rubber Men” at circus sideshows and he discovered that each of them drank the extract from a plant called the Gingold.  Ralph was able to concentrate the Gingold down to the point where he could stretch far beyond what normal rubber men could.  Ralph is also an extremely accomplished detective, perhaps second only to the Batman.  He is unique at this point in super hero story telling as Ralph has elected to not have a secret identity.  He is married to a lovely socialite named Susan Dearborn Dibny.

Red Tornado – The Android Elemental.   John Smith is an android construct of a Justice League villain, mad scientist T.O. Morrow.  Unfortunately Reddy’s construction was such that John began to feel, form morals, and he rejected T.O. Morrow’s programming and eventually joined the Justice League.  Red Tornado’s android body houses the Tornado Champion, an elemental that fuels his massive wind powers.  Tornado is in love with a woman named Kathy Sutton and desires to be a father figure to a young girl he saved named Traya.

Zatanna – The Mistress of Magic.  Zatanna Zatara is the daughter of a hero from World War II called Zatara and a woman named Sindella who is a member of a race of magicians called Homo Magi.  While questing to find her missing father Zatanna came into contact with most of the JLA and eventually was offered membership.  She speaks her spells backwards.  Example:  “Llaw fo htrae tfil pu hgih! Tcetorp su mrof eht taerht taht seilf!”  translates to “Wall of earth lift up high! Protect us from the threat that flies!”

Firestorm – The Nuclear Man.  Firestorm is actually two men caught in the midst of a nuclear experiment gone wrong.  High School Student Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein were fused together into a being that possessed flight and control over the molecular structure of objects.  Ronnie is the main physical entity while Dr. Stein hangs around Ronnie as an invisible head that only Ronnie can communicate with.  This frequently makes other characters think that Firestorm is talking to himself, mostly for comical effect, but it also leads to the other heroes not taking him all that seriously.

What’s that Ralph?  Does your nose smell a mystery?   Well fear not gentle readers for we will be discussing the story in which the above event occurs in depth when next we meet.

JLA #200 – A League Divided

“Darren… this makes no sense!”

These are the words that a young friend who had probably not really picked up a comic before.  The volume he had chosen was “The History of the DC Universe” written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez.  I just looked at him and said

“You should have seen the DC Universe BEFORE that book came out.”

I feel like I understand the DC Universe (DCU)  fairly well and it’s nothing against the Marvel guys across the way, but I had the cash for one universe and DC won, probably due to their presence on tv back when I was growing up.

Theoretically, I understand the DCU because I started out when I did, so I am supposing that if we do the introductions of characters back when I met them hopefully some of that understanding will rub off on the non-readers out there.  So, if this fictional universe is going to make any sense to someone who has never delved past the surface let’s start off with my beginning as a DC fan.

You are now taking a college prep course.

JLA 101  The Basics

So, let’s start at the beginning as to when I encountered my first DC comic book.

Super-Friends was no longer on the air as much, I had become aware of the concept of “the rerun” and it annoyed me.  I went looking for other things to read.  Anything about heroes, villains, epic battles of right versus wrong, that was what drew me to literature.  I delved into books about Greek myths, King Arthur, and Robin Hood.  After all, there was no Harry Potter back then, instead it was Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach and E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web that were the popular books in school at the time.

Then one day, for my birthday, I went to the local Magik Market ™ and was going to get a slurpee with the last of my birthday money.  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the famed circular comic book rack.  In the era before the direct comic market, most comics were shipped to convenience stores, mom and pop drug stores, and grocery stores.  On the racks I saw Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, but I didn’t have a lot of money and comics were 60 cents back then.  A major financial commitment for a kid without an allowance.  I had $2 dollars on me.  So I could get 3 comics plus tax.  Then I saw it.

The Justice League of America.  Those are the Super-Friends, right?

To me, they were.  I would not realize this at the time but it was not just any issue of Justice League, it was #200.  It has a wrap-around cover.  It features no less than 17 heroes on the inside and it was easily triple the size of the other comics featuring only one character.

Sold!

I got back to the car and my father yelled at me.  I was supposed to get a Slurpee not a comic book.  But it was my birthday and my money, I spent it the way I wanted.  My mom defended me and my younger brother wanted to read the comic.  This family dynamic would continue until my senior year in high school.  But, more about that later.

I opened the gorgeous cover drawn by George Perez.  Prounounced (PAIR – ehz).  I was treated to a very short retelling of the origin of the Justice League in which the icons of the DC Universe fought seven aliens from the planet Appellax who came to use Earth as their arena for trial by combat.  It seemed as if I could hear the Super-Friends music ringing in my ears.

So, let’s just introduce the first characters in the DC Universe that I ever met.

Superman – Rocketed from the doomed planet Krypton, orphaned Kal-El was raised in Smallville, Kansas by Jonathan and Martha Kent with good old Midwestern American values.  As his body took in the rays of Earth’s yellow sun his body gained the abilities to be “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.”  He is known as the “Man of Tomorrow”, “The Man of Steel”, and “The Big Blue Boy Scout”.

Wonder Woman –The only daughter of the Amazon’s queen Hippolyta, won a contest to become the Amazon’s ambassador to Man’s World to teach peace, love, and respect for all humankind.  Wonder Woman’s purpose is right out of the theme song of the Lynda Carter TV Show “Make a hawk a dove, stop a war with love, make a liar tell the truth.”  In her satin tights, fighting for our rights, Diana is not only a role model to all women in her iconic status as the most recognizable female super hero, but she is the undisputed mother of all super heroines.  There may have been some older than her, but she is undoubtedly the one with the most staying power.

Batman – The Dark Knight.  The origin is classic.  A young boy goes to a movie (typically Zorro is showing in the origins) with his parents and upon leaving the movie in high spirits his parents are accosted by a mugger.  The mugger shoots and kills his father and mother leaving the boy alive and alone in a single street light.  Raised by his family’s butler, Alfred, the young Bruce Wayne vows to wage a never ending battle for justice.  He uses an image that will strike fear into the hearts of the superstitious that of a Bat.  He trains his body and mind to perfection and becomes the scourge of the Underworld. The Batman.

Aquaman – King of the Seven Seas.  Born cursed with blonde hair the son of a lighthouse keeper and a mermaid, Arthur Curry is torn between his two heritages.  He is able to move through water as fast as Superman can through air or Flash can on land.  He commands all the marine life within range of his telepathy.  His body can withstand pressures that would crush lesser beings.  He can see through the darkest oceans.  Forget all that.  He is KING OF ATLANTIS.  Aquaman gets a bad rap and is easy for others to make fun of, but he is KING OF ATLANTIS!  He commands a force of warriors and mystics that should make you think twice to even go near the ocean.  His King and Diana’s Princess give the JLA more than a touch of regal respect.

Green Lantern – When Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 Abin Sur was dying he landed his space craft in the Mohave Desert on Earth and commanded his ring to find a worthy successor.  It sought out a human being who knew no fear.  That being was Hal Jordan, test pilot.  Hal accepted the ring and became a member of the Intergalactic Police Force, the Green Lantern Corps.  With the ring he can create constructs as long as he wills them into being.  He is Aladdin with a proverbial genie on his finger and his cosmic adventures rival any of those experienced in the sci-fi genre.

The Flash – Barry Allen, a consistently late police forensic scientist was working in the lab one evening when a lightning bolt struck him and a wall of chemicals bathing him and made him The Fastest Man Alive.  The Flash controls all of his molecules and can pass through solid objects, run up the side of buildings, and can cross an ocean before he has time to sink.  He was C.S.I. before C.S.I. was cool.

The Manhunter from Mars or more commonly known as The Martian Manhunter also known as John Jones or J’onn J’onzz.  If Superman is the ideal, Wonder Woman is the heart, Batman is the brain, the the Martian Manhunter is the soul of the Justice League.  Pulled from Mars after his race was eradicated in a fiery plague, J’onn assimilated into human culture as a detective and used his Martian gifts to change his shape, telepathy, flight, super strength, and Martian vision and breath to fight crime as the Martian Manhunter.

These seven are the founding members of the Justice League of America (JLA).  From Left to Right:  Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter as done by Alex Ross.

Yes there is a lot more to say about these characters.  Entire encyclopedic volumes have been written about some of these characters, but I am not here to overwhelm.  Just enjoy the visuals of the logos and the seven heroes together for now.   When next we meet, we will encounter the non-charter members of the JLA.

Howdy all.  As this is the first post how about a little introduction.

I’m Darren, I’ll be your host for this cruise.  Now, you are booked on the Lido Deck, drinks will be at the pool and of course you will be seated at the Captain’s Table tomorrow night.    In actuality, I am an Aquarian, a huge comic book fan, and gayer than Christmas.

So, why this blog?  There’s only like a gazillion out there.   Well, good question.  I live my life with my feet firmly in two separate worlds.  One in the comic book fandom world where bright and shiny icons of justice fight the good fight against villainy and the other foot firmly in the mundane world where I exist as a gay man in a world that isn’t quite as shiny and has more than it’s share of villainy and a deficit of heroes.

And what does the title of the blog mean anyway?

“Super Friends of Dorothy” is a take off of the phrase “Are you Friends of Dorothy?” which was a phrase used around and after World War II when being gay was illegal.  This was a coded way to investigate your intended paramour to see if they were open to more than just having a beer and watching the game.  The Dorothy reference is debated as to whom it is, either Dorothy Gale from Wizard of Oz fame played by Gay Icon Ms. Judy Garland or famed writer Ms. Dorothy Parker who has the wit to rival and surpass Oscar Wilde.   I will let the academics decide that battle.

For the Super Friends part well, it’s from the 1970s-1980s Hanna Barbera animated show of the same name.  Getting up every Saturday morning bright and early, grabbing that cereal bowl (Corn Pops or Lucky Charms) and adding a ton of sugar to it in the bowl, and sitting in front of the tv to watch as the heroes battled the Legion of Doom!  A Saturday morning tradition turned into a fervent hobby and ever since I was twelve, I have been collecting comics.

But I’m gay… Gay guys don’t collect comics.   Oh Contraire, mon frere!  Not only do we collect comics there is a great deal about our lives reflected in comics and even though in the beginning of the online comics community there was not a lot of acceptance, that changed over time and I am proud to be friend to many gay comic book buds and we have a ton of straight allies.

However, it seems regular folks, gay or straight, have a problem with adult men and women reading comics.  Or “funny books” as they like to refer to them.  What most regular folks are missing out on here are stories of modern myth.  These heroes are every bit as great as the legends of old.. Jason, Achilles, Gilgamesh, King Arthur, Aladdin, Paul Bunyan, John Henry.. the list goes on.

So to merge these two opposed universes, the gay man’s world with the comic’s world.  Perhaps in discussing comics some straight people will see that gay life isn’t as weird and foreign as they imagine and perhaps while chatting about gay issues, lgbters will observe that comics can be fun and can mean more to them when they read below the surface.

So, that’s the goal.  Will I succeed in this never ending battle for truth and justice?  Or should I just take the Kryptonite pill now?   Time will tell.

I would like to dedicate this blog to my friends… The Super Friends of Dorothy!

And to the web guy for getting this up and running.  Danke!!