Comic Book Implosion and Supergirl

As a comic book reader of a certain age, I knew that I had lived through the DC Comics Implosion of the 1970s. As an amateur comic historian, I thought I had something of a grasp of what it all was about. But I knew I didn't quite get it. For some reason, I always shunted the Implosion to the mid-70s rather than the later years of the decade. I needed to learn more.

So when the book Comic Book Implosion came out earlier this year, I made a mental note to seek it out. It was on a short 'to buy' list as I saw it waiting on the shelf of my LCS for me to get when the appropriate big sale came around.

Turns out blog friend Mart Gray, of the great Too Dangerous For A Girl review site, made my waiting for a sale moot, sending me a copy to read. And this definitely was a fascinating look at that slice of time.

I definitely knew the term DC Implosion was a riff on the marketing term 'The DC Explosion'. And yes, I am old enough to remember seeing this Joe Staton ad in books and wondering where I would be able to read more Big Barda (having discovered her in the Englehart/Rogers Mister Miracle) and Hawkman.

The book gathers a number of sources - interviews, articles, and publicity pieces - and snips and rearranges them more chronologically so that you understand how the Implosion unfolded. It turns out it all had to do with cover price and shelf life. As a kid growing up then and in a family that was frugal (out of necessity), the difference between a 50c comic and a 35c comic was a big deal.  So to see how those pennies crushed this endeavor and ended a whole swath of comics was fascinating to read.

But this is a Supergirl blog. So did this impact her?

Review: Superboy And The Legion of Super-Heroes #255

Hey all!

A snow-pocalypse has slightly altered the schedule of the blog so my review of Superman #38 has been delayed  from today into next week. As a result, please enjoy this look back at Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #255.

I have been looking for a Legion book to review on this site for a bit. Most know I love the Legion and I have been waiting for the team to get a proper reboot in the Rebirth era.

And given my recent lamenting of the 'going back in time to visit Krypton' storyline in Action Comics these days, this issue seemed like a quirky little book to go to for a review. There isn't any Supergirl in this post. But not only do you get a visit to Krypton and the El family before the planet blows up, you get plenty of angsty teenage Clark. As a bonus, you get Shrinking Violet in her mod green jumpsuit! What's not to love?

This is a near-perfect example of a Bronze Age done in one story, zipping through any number of plot points with startling alacrity. And this book starts more like a Superboy solo book than a Legion tale. It takes a while for everything to mesh. But once it does, it is a wild ride.

Review: Victory By Computers

Welcome to a special back issue box review of 'Victory by Computer', a giveaway comic by DC Comics and Radio Shack from way back in 1981. This story included the guest stars of Supergirl as well as the TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids, Alec and Shanna. Alec and Shanna had already befriended Superman in 1980's 'The Computers That Saved Metropolis'. The truth is, Supergirl, Shanna, and Alec are the stars of the book. Superman is pretty ancillary to the story.

This was a time when computers were typically big and bulky. Home computers were just starting to appear and their utility was limited. Radio Shack, then a pioneer in computing, put out several comics discussing how much computers could help people in their everyday lives. Of course, the books also trumpeted Radio Shack's products as well. It is remarkable to see how prescient this 33 year old book was at predicting the future.

We were dealing with a little IT kerfuffle at work this week and that made me remember this book. So I thought I would share.

"Victory by Computer" has a pretty famous creative team for a Radio Shack promo book. Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Vince Colletta are pretty legendary names in DC lore. So I am pretty impressed with creator box on this issue.

And I have to say that Supergirl looks positively smashing in this book. I'm not a huge fan of Curt Swan's take on Kara. But she looks great in this issue, starting out with this opening splash. I think Colletta's inks here bring a sort of Oksner-esque softness to her.

More importantly, my opinion of the hot pants Supergirl costume has really improved over the course of the last few years. Who would think that an old Supergirl fan like me could have some sort of renaissance of thought about older versions.

My guess is when I started this blog that I would have listed the hot pants costume near the bottom of my rankings of Supergirl's looks. (The red skirt look is my absolute favorite.) It may be a need for nostalgia or just a change in my taste but I would now rank the hot pants look as my second favorite look.

The issue opens with the super-cousins flying into a classroom in an unnamed Metropolis elementary school. In a little exposition, we hear that Superman had visited this same classroom in the past. That time he had 'large boxes' with 'big equipment' ... the actual TRS-80 home computers with the bulky tube monitor, etc. That happened in the prior giveaway issue.

Instead, this time, there isn't the need for the big computers ... at least not yet. This time the super-cousins have the TRS-80 pocket computer!! Slim, trim, and able to be easily slipped into hidden cape pockets, this computer has all the power of "the old room-sized computers of the late 1940's!"

And look at what it can do!

Remember words, analyze information, make comparisons. And you can write your own programs in Basic! It's the easiest language to learn!

Unfortunately, before we can see them write

10 print "Anj is awesome!"
20 go to 10

Superman is called away to an emergency. An imprisoned Luthor is making boasts in his cell saying today, Superman will free Luthor from prison. Cue wicked laugh!

Now it is fascinating to read this comic in today's world of smartphones, the internet, and the power of computing. The technology here is clunky.

But I have to say it predicts the future pretty well. My guess is in 1981 all this sounded like Oz. But here Supergirl talks how 'soon' computers will have an informational retrieval system where people will be able to do banking, go shopping, make appointments, etc. That is all right on.

The kids use what seems to be a fetal version of the internet called 'Videotex' to do a sort of trial run of some of the things that are possible. The kids just need a land line phone, a modem interface, and TSR-80 'Videotex' terminal, and a monitor.

Land lines? Modems?

But this old school internet works.

Having heard that Superman is going to confront Luthor, Supergirl challenges Alec and Shanna to a race. She will use her superpowers, they will use the TRS-80, and they will see who can gather information about Superman's battles with Luthor faster.

Supergirl speeds off to the WGBS file room to research the old fashioned way, looking things up, finding files, and reading. (Nice use of multiple images in the panel to convey her work.)

In the meantime Alec and Shanna type in a password to enter Videotex, type in a few key search words, and get a nice list of electronic documents that are pertinent.

AMAZING!!

I also love ... LOVE ... that Bates has Supergirl tell the teacher that she is comfortable in front of kids because her day job is in a classroom, a reference to Linda's time as a counselor at the New Athens Experimental School.

While the kids head off to the Metropolis Museum of Science and Industry, Supergirl decides to patrol Metropolis. She promised Superman she would watch the place while he was dealing with Luthor.

She notices in the mountains off the outskirts of Metropolis a secluded building which is emitting a microwave beam which could interfere with planes nearby. As Supergirl flies to investigate, the 'solar panels' on the roof flip to become red sun radiation emitters. Suddenly powerless, Supergirl falls into the open roof area of the building. It is all a trap.

Of course this isn't just a Superman and Supergirl adventure. This is a promotional book about computers. So we get a couple of pages dedicated to the history of computers, from the vacuum tube to microprocessors to silicon chips.

Supergirl wakes up imprisoned in what looks to be a hotel room in a club/casino. The doors are adorned with pictures of dice and the double letters PP. Without her powers (she assumes the red sun radiation permeates the building), Kara is left to her own devices.

Using a paper clip, she picks the lock of the room she is trapped in. Who knew she had such mad skills!

And, luckily, the room next door is equipped with a TRS-80, land line phone and modem! What luck!! The highest of technology!

Realizing she must be in the 'Purple Palace' (the PP on the doors), Supergirl decides to use the computer to get some help.

Calling Alec and Shanna (they are back at school), Supergirl works with them to scan Videotex to find out the address and send Supergirl a bunch of important information.

And don't worry, passwords are needed and not visible on the TRS-80.

Superman finally returns to the classroom to hear what has happened. Alec and Shanna are able to give him the address of the Palace and so he flies off to rescue Supergirl.

Hold on! Won't he also be effected by the red sun emitter??

Well, he would have been if he had to get really close to the Palace. But Supergirl used her computer search to read about a recent police sting on the Palace. And in that article, she read about a secret passage away from the Palace. She has escaped and is now far enough away that the Red Sun radiation isn't effecting either cousin.

Luthor had convinced the mobsters running the Palace to capture Supergirl to use as ransom, forcing Superman to free Lex. With Supergirl now free, the super-cousins capture the mobsters and leave Lex tucked in his cell.

But seriously, if you have a huge casino complex, why would you lock Supergirl in the room that has a hidden escape tunnel? Why not put her in ... I don't know ... any other room??

Of course none of this would have been possible without the slick computer work by Alec and Shanna and their savvy use of all the technological might of the TRS-80! What a team!!!

This is far more interesting to me as a look into the past than as a Supergirl or Superman story. It is fascinating to see just what computing was like back then. And I was astounded to see just how forward thinking Radio Shack was about the power of personal computing.

Still, it is also a fun little Supergirl story. Seeing her pick a lock, talk about her career as a teacher, and using her brains to get out of a jam makes me happy. Superman has little to do with this story. And he doesn't rescue Kara. She rescues herself.

I find oddities like this round out collections. I am happy to have it in my Supergirl stuff. Overall, it is of low historical importance to the character.

Hope you liked this look back.

Back Issue Review: Superman Family #208 - Supergirl On TV

Let's face it, the biggest story of the year so far has been the news of Supergirl heading to television. As a Supergirl fan, I am pretty cautious with my optimism. I go into Supergirl news very warily due to past missteps. But so far, every announcement about this show has been great. This feeling of optimism is strange to me ... novel.

With that news percolating, and needing a back issue to review, I thought I would take a look at Superman Family #208. This issue has, in a sense, Supergirl heading to television. And, it also seemed to be the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Kara ... an interesting foil to the ending of the current incarnation's book and the new chapter (eventually) of Supergirl being on the small screen.

I do my best to try to make the back issues I review relevant to current storylines or news ... so take this one with a grain of salt.

The Super-Switch to New York was the lead story in Superman Family #208, written by Jack C. Harris with art by Win Mortimer and Vince Colletta. This was the creative team for Supergirl on the book and honestly, there aren't many memorable stories in this run. Outside of the return of Lesla Lar, most of these Supergirl stories are pretty forgettable.

So this injection of a new location and a new supporting cast was welcomed.

It starts out with a nice little primer on the Supergirl character. This is a good splash page, showcasing Supergirl in the center, and then putting in key history moments around it. Argo City, Zor-El and Alura, showcasing her growth as Supergirl, and then covering the careers of Linda Danvers. She's been a cameraperson for the news, a student at an acting school, a guidance counselor ... and now?

The actual story starts out with Supergirl stopping a tornado which just happens to be right in the vicinity of the New Athens Experimental School where she is guidance counselor in her Linda Danvers identity.

This isn't particularly innovative of a sequence. She unwinds the twister and blocks the lightning it spawns. But this rescue mission keeps her from her office duties.

In fact, when she gets to her office, she finds her boss Mr. Pierce waiting for her. He has been keeping track of when she is in her office, when she is available, and what she does. Now why he would think the right thing to do when a tornado is about to strike the campus is wait to see if one of his workers is on time is beyond me. And couldn't Linda just say the impending natural disaster delayed her?

Instead of tap dancing around her tardy arrival, Linda attacks. Her contract says she can keep her own hours. She has done great work. And if her boss wants to fire her, he can go ahead!

Nice fire by Linda!

Incredibly, Peter Barton (one of the supporting cast in the book) is walking by Linda's office when he hears her read Mr. Pierce the riot act. He is an acting agent and is so struck by her passion that he thinks she should try out to take the place of Laura Larue, the star of the 'Secret Hearts' soap opera. Tough luck for the actual actors struggling out there!

I do like the little comment by Linda in the last panel. She had been trying to date him for most of this run. He ends up proposing to someone else. If only he had heard her passion earlier!

This was a simpler and, in many ways, better time.

Should she quit her job in education? Head to New York? Try out for an acting job on a soap opera?

She decides to bounce the idea of someone she trusts. She meets with her cousin. After a little back and forth, he tells her to go for it. He thinks she should go for it. And you can tell that Kara sort of needed to hear that. She can do something for herself for once.

Realizing that Supergirl and Linda Danvers shouldn't arrive in New York at the same time, Kara decides to act as Supergirl heroically in the Big Apple for some time, establishing herself there.

It is a rather mundane page of daring-do. She stops some muggers. She pulls someone off the train tracks. She starts to get some fans. Imagine that ... DC letting everyday people like their heroes. And she is as big a deal as Wonder Woman and the New Teen Titans!

But couldn't we get one shot of her punching out a super-villain?

Finally, we get something of bigger deal then petty theft.

As she flies by the UN building, a bomb goes off one of the middle floors, blowing out the windows and throwing out a delegate. Supergirl swoops by and grabs him mid-air.

His country isn't named but he is dressed as someone from the Middle East. He wants to work with the United States but terrorists have threatened him to break relations. This bomb was the first of many the terrorists have set up.

After dropping off the delegates with the police, Supergirl goes out and does her best to limit the damage from the other explosives. She can't stop the explosions at the Empire State Building or the Museum of Modern Art, but she significantly limits the damage. And she is able to defuse the one under the Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center.

People cheer for her! Supergirl is New York's Superman. Hurrah!

And then ... a plot twist.

The delegate who almost died in the initial explosion, being thrown out from an upper floor of the UN, is actually the terrorist.

Was the first explosion faulty? Did he plan to get thrown out of the building and get saved by Supergirl? Why tell her about the other bombs? Why?

I guess I shouldn't think too much about it. Because it makes no sense at all.

And that terrorist isn't going to escape. She tracks him by a unique smell at all the explosions.

And once again ... she is welcomed by the city, this time by the mayor!

Imagine that, a city welcoming a superhero with open arms! And people are smiling!!!!

I love it!

And with Supergirl established, Linda can arrive in New York City and sign the acting contract. Supergirl ... that is Linda Danvers ... is now a television star.

It's a whole new chapter in the life of Supergirl.

This is a nice little story showing how established Supergirl is, welcomed by as tough a city as NYC, and working to stop crimes both big and small. The art is classic Mortimer, smooth and clean. I like how Linda looks in this issue.

Now I don't know if this is a huge issue in Supergirl history but it does mark a shift. As such, it should be held as being of moderate importance to a Supergirl collection, akin to Superman #376. You can probably find it for $1-3 at conventions and it is worth buying.

Overall grade: B

Back Issue Box: Superman Family #171

World's Finest #3 is going to be released in a couple of weeks and represents the "first" team up between Supergirl and Batgirl in the DCU. Well, at least the first team up of the current incarnations of these characters.

With that issue right around the corner, I thought I would review a couple of Supergirl/Batgirl team ups from the past.

The first one will be Superman Family #171, one of a handful of team ups between the Silver Age Linda Danvers Supergirl and Barbara Gordon Batgirl. The issue sports a lovely Nick Cardy cover.

"Cleopatra, Queen of America" was written by Elliot S! Maggin and drawn by a combination of Curt Swan and Vince Colletta. This is an interesting time in Supergirl's history. Her solo title had ended and original material was being cycled through the Superman Family title. (The original material's character appeared at the top of the left hand cover column. The other stories in the issue were reprints.)

This also was the beginning of Linda's career as a student advisor at the New Athens Experimental School. One thing I don't like about the early Superman Family stories by Maggin is that Linda states that she wants to lead a 'normal life', almost denying her powers. I prefer my Supergirl to be an active hero.

The story starts at the Experimental School's Art Museum where Lilibet Winsor, an exchange student from London, is magically drawn to a museum piece, the scepter of Cleopatra. The scepter leaps from its case into her hands.

Before we can see the outcome of that scene, we are brought to the school's administration building where Linda Danvers has been asked to give a tour to a very special visitor ... Congresswoman Barbara Gordon!

I had completely forgotten about this chapter in Babs' life. Can anyone tell me more about her time in Congress? Was there a storyline about her campaign??

The two women commiserate about their problem with the stuffy nature of their respective systems ... be it a school's hierarchy or the government. In fact, both complain about the 'tight bottomed rigidness' they deal with daily. Go ahead and snicker all you want .... I did!

The tour is cut short as a very unnatural hurricane-like wind begins to batter the campus. Both superheroes realize that this gale needs to be investigated so they slip away from each other and change into Supergirl and Batgirl. There is a nice side-by-side vertical strip of the two women switching into their more colorful identities. Apparently at this stage of their friendship, the two have not shared their secret identities with each other.

The source of the wind is Lilibet and Cleopatra's scepter. The scepter hangs in the air over the student's head while the wind violently swirls around her and her boyfriend.

Supergirl and Batgirl try to save the two but the wind only stops when Lilibet takes hold of the relic.

In an earlier scene, Lilibet tells her boyfriend that when she grabbed the staff the first time that everyone around her obeyed her without question. Her boyfriend theorizes that the scepter is magical as he recalls myths that Cleopatra could not be disobeyed as long as she held it. Lilibet must somehow be a distant descendant of the Egyptian Queen and therefore could use the staff to rule the world.

The exchange student does not want the power or rule the world. In fact, while holding the staff she states that she wouldn't ever want to control someone from New Athens.

Unfortunately, absolute power must corrupt. Linda hears on the television that Congress has voted to abolish the Constitution and name Lilibet as Queen of the United States.

Despite wanting to live a 'normal life', Kara flies to Washington D.C. and runs into Barbara. Because of Lilibet's prior statement about not controlling anyone in New Athens, Kara and Babs are free from the new Cleopatra's control.

Realizing that Cleopatra's scepter is the source of Lilibet's power, Supergirl flies off and wrests the staff from the Queen's hands. However, before she can destroy it, Supergirl is confronted by more of Lilibet's slaves ... this time the JLA!

Superman regains the scepter and returns it to Lilibet. The new Cleopatra then orders the JLA to subdue Supergirl. Kara is pummeled by Green Lantern, Black Canary, even the Elongated Man.

Unconscious and magically stripped of some of her power by the scepter, Supergirl is thrown off a bridge into a nearby river to drown.

Luckily, Babs has changed to Batgirl and had been trailing the scene. She pulls the limp Supergirl from the water.

And then we see one of the oddest medical resuscitation scenes I have seen in comics. First we see some standard mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But then we see the delivery of some pressurized air from a car tire? Seems a little weird. Nevertheless it works and Supergirl is revived.

But the heroes realize that a depowered Supergirl and Batgirl are no match for Lilibet and her army of slaves. The two will need to win the day through cunning and deception.

So later, as Lilibet gets named Queen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, someone claming to be the resurrected Cleopatra arrives on the scene.

This 'Cleopatra' tells Lilibet that she is immune to her mind control powers and will reduce the exchange student to 'snivelling jelly'. In fact, the only one who could save Lilibet from the suddenly living Queen of the Nile would have been Supergirl.

For some reason, Lilibet buys the story. So she doesn't order Superman to come and squash 'Cleopatra' like a bug.

Instead, Lilibet sees that Supergirl has also arrived on the scene and gives the Girl of Steel all of her powers back.

At the same time, the true nature of Lilibet, the girl who did not want this power to begin with, comes to the surface. She says she doesn't want the power any more and throws the scepter to Supergirl. Supergirl then quickly throws the scepter into the sun.

With the scepter destroyed, everyone returns to their right minds. And 'Cleopatra' reveals herself to have been Batgirl all along. Lilibet even turns out to be a good person having been somehow drawn to the scepter and somehow forced to do what she did.

The story ends with CLark and Linda catching up. Clark again wonders why Supergirl would want to live a 'normal' life rather than be the pro-active hero she should be.

This is sort of a silly story albeit one perfect for the time it was released. Despite her desire to not be a superhero, Supergirl does leap to action throughout the story.

As for its place in a Supergirl collection, the issue is one of only a handful of Supergirl/Batgirl team-ups from the Silver Age despite being portrayed as the best of friends. This issue also sports a nice Cardy cover, a prolific and talented cover artist from the seventies. As a result, the Linda/Babs stories are nice additions to have in a Supergirl collection.

This issue probably costs between $10-20 bucks in decent condition at most conventions.

Overall grade: C+