Showcase Presents: Phantom Stranger Vol. 1

Read this book, for it is...THE PHANTOM STRANGER!

The Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 covers the character's series from 1969-1972. Early writing duties fall mainly to Mike Friedrich, and later to Len Wein, Gerry Conway, and Robert Kanigher. The character takes a while to find his feet, but once he does, the book is really good.

Once he is established, the Phantom Stranger is a supernatural being who shows up to stop evil supernatural stuff. His speech reminds me of Storm from the 90s X-Men cartoon (which is a hilariously good thing), and at times he seems to have limitless power. However, a good punch to the face takes him out more than once. This usually happens while he's monologuing to the bad guy about how they can never defeat the power of righteousness.

The earlier stories are not as interesting, as the character is simply a guy who shows up and disproves supernatural phenomenon. These stories get old fast, because there's not actually any spooky stuff going on, and the Stranger himself appears to just be a random guy who shows up and talks a lot without actually doing anything.

Later on, real stuff starts happening, and the Stranger becomes way more engaging with cool powers and abilities. There is some sense of continuity, as he runs into the same two antagonists more than a few times. Tala is a female "Queen of Evil," and manipulates mortals into performing evil deeds. Tannarak is a sorcerer who needs to steal mortal life in order to extend his own. Outside of those two, there's so much crazy supernatural stuff that the Stranger has to extinguish or send back to the abyss. It made for very good reading.

The Stranger usually comes out on top, leaving a strong moral message for those who remain after the battle, though the evil escapes most of the time.

Dr. Thirteen is a huge part of this book. He is another opponent of evil, although his ultimate goal is to disprove all instances of supernatural activity. At first, he and the Stranger are in all the stories together. This quickly becomes formulaic and overused. It's even more baffling early on when he and the Stranger are essentially the same character, since the Stranger seemingly has no powers. Thankfully, they go their separate ways eventually and have individual adventures. Of course, nearly everything Dr. Thirteen runs into turns out to be fake, and everything the Stranger encounters is real, thereby reinforcing each of their convictions.

Early artwork is a mixture of Bill Draut, Mike Sekowsky, and Neal Adams. Later on, it's Jim Aparo and Tony DeZuniga. It's all pretty great. It's interesting to note how artwork from the same period can be so lame or awesome depending on the book. Artists seemed to be given more freedom with the horror stuff, compared to the superhero lineup.

Overall, it was great. The early stuff had me wary to continue, but I'm glad I did. The Stranger is an interesting character, and I find it impressive that DC has kept his true origins and backstory a complete mystery. He truly is a phantom stranger.

Showcase Presents: Strange Adventures Vol. 1

Hang on a second, some of this doesn't make sen--THE END.

Strange Adventures Vol. 1 presents the book's run from issues #54-73. There are about four stories per issue, which means that they're all really short, coming in at six pages or less.

This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. There are plenty of DC stories from the same time period with good short stories. However, Strange Adventures doesn't even seem to try in terms of narrative. Here's what the process feels like:

WRITER: "Hey, I've got the start of an idea!"

EDITOR: "You have twenty minutes to get the full final copy on my desk."

Almost every single story is a half-thought idea that really doesn't go anywhere. It seems like they threw whatever was left over from other books into this one. The fact that writers come and go every single issue makes the case even stronger.

Somebody was paid to come up with this "idea."

I wanted to like this book so bad. I love the goofy Silver Age stories, but there was absolutely no substance to any of these. The only good thing about any of them are the titles. Just by reading some of those, there is so much wasted potential:

The Gorilla who Challenged the World
The Day the Sun Exploded
I Hunted the Radium Man!
The Invisible Masters of Earth!
The Super-Athletes from Outer Space!
The Man Who Remembered 100,000 Years Ago!
I Was the Man in the Moon!
The Man Who Discovered the West Pole!
The Flying Raincoat!
The Talking Flower!
The Man Who Couldn't Drown!
The Man with Four Minds!
Raiders from the Ultra-Violet!
The Man Who Ate Sunshine!
The Skyscraper that Came to Life!

All of the stories end abruptly and unexpectedly. There are so many questions unanswered, and there's usually one panel that desperately attempts to cram in the "explanation" of the entire plot. But there is no plot. Just a huge waste of time. I walked away from each story feeling one of three things:

1. Very mild amusement
2. Anger
3. Total indifference

Of course! How could I have been so blind?

The only counter-argument I find of why these stories are so lame is because they were written for young children. But even if I were eight years old, I would still be pissed at the total incoherency and lack of effort. The artwork doesn't offer much either. All of the people look the same, in the same static poses, never really doing anything.

Pictured: Logic, apparently.

Let me walk you through a story. I can do it quite fast, since there's nothing there to begin with:

1. The government is seeking defense against foreign guided missile attacks
2. An inventor creates a ray that will create a force field around a city
3. He tests it out. Inexplicably, gems rain from the sky, and people collect them
4. The gems exert telepathic commands, controlling people to take over the city
5. The inventor disables the evil gem by shooting his ray (in reverse) directly at it
6. THE END

I just want to punch someone.

Seriously, that's all there is to it. It's just so stupid. There are blind attempts to clumsily explain why shit is happening, but they never actually clarify anything. In fact, they usually just make it worse. Just thinking about it makes me mad.

There can be no other explanation.

Since this book runs smack-dab in the middle of the Atomic Age, nearly every story includes invasion by aliens, some kind of good/bad radiation, or the intense power of America's A-Bomb/H-Bomb. The very thinly veiled Soviet Union fear runs rampant.

IT'S. SO. SUBTLE.

Bottom line? Skip it. Just skip it. I am incredibly surprised that not one, but two volumes of Strange Adventures are included in DC's Showcase Presents TPBs. Why, when there are so many other worthwhile things?

Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex Vol. 1

"...he did have two companions: one was death itself...the other...the acrid smell of gunsmoke."

Jonah Hex Vol. 1 includes stories from All-Star Western (which was later renamed Weird Western Tales) #10-33. The Hex stories run from 1972-1976. Oddly, there are several Outlaw stories included as well.

The character of Jonah Hex was created by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga. The early stories are written and drawn by both of them respectfully. Hex is a staunch antihero. He's on the side of good, but just doing the good deed isn't motivation enough. There's usually some cash involved too, and he will never discuss with anybody lame things like "feelings." He's rough, gruff, and tough. His entire character and background plays out like a Greek tragedy, and are incredibly well-written. It is one of my top Showcase Presents volumes so far.

The early stories pick and choose from Hex's adventures. There's no solid timeline of events. This is totally fine, because each standalone story is great. All you need to know is presented up front. Hex is a bitter loner, master gunman, and bounty hunter with a past that he's not in the mood to talk about. There are many classic Western themes throughout this volume. If you've ever seen a "classic Western film," you can expect to find similar characteristics in these stories. And like most of those stories, bad things happen to good people. There's just no way around it. It makes all of the stories that much more tragic and real.

Thinking this literally right before she's murdered by a knife-wielding maniac.

At issue #22, Michael Fleisher takes over writing duties. He immediately starts to throw backstory and extended story arcs everywhere. It isn't necessarily bad, but it's too much too fast. He also, unfortunately, takes Albano's dialogue accents to the absolute extreme. Eventually it's toned down to tolerable levels, but for a while some of it's near unreadable.

Everyone. All the time.

There are several stories with human rights motives. They include Native Americans, women, and African-Americans. Hex is on their side, although he usually has to hide it since every white guy around him is heavily armed and on the opposing side. The stories really capture the untamed frontier that was the West. Even though people were "civilized," it didn't stop some of them from doing anything to get ahead or make a quick buck. It's a great snapshot of post-Civil War America at its best and worst.

The level of violence is quite high. There's a pretty high body count per story, and the main antagonist in each adventure usually gets what's coming to him/her. It could be anyone from a gang of outlaws to a corrupt judge. It's this sense of impending justice that made the Albano stories so good (plus that Hex usually has one last quip before he kills them). But it's not like Hex comes out on top. He is usually cast out from the town even though he just saved all their sorry asses. He never finds a place to settle down (if that's even something he wants), and even if he seems to, some event occurs that would make it impossible. Just when things start to look up for Hex, you can count on something smashing him back down.

Art duties fall mainly to Tony DeZuniga, who does beyond outstanding. Others that carried the art torch include Noly Panaligan, George Moliterni, and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. It's all great. The action is presented wonderfully, and the variety of layouts and amount of detail really set this apart. I feel like the original coloring would have obscured some of the intricate line work, so I am more than okay with this being in black and white.

There's a great level of humor pervading almost the whole volume. Even though many of the stories are serious in nature, there's still room for a joke or two.

As stated earlier, the end of this volume includes the complete Outlaw adventures. I know they're still Western stories printed around the same time, but it's a little odd. I would guess their inclusion is to satisfy DC's "Over 500 Pages of Comics!" boast. These stories are quite forgettable, especially compared to the prior Jonah Hex adventures.

Bottom line? Absolutely worth checking out, even if you don't particularly care for Westerns. And you can find it relatively inexpensive, unlike some Showcase Presents volumes. I am pumped for Volume 2.

Showcase Presents: Eclipso Vol. 1

Your wits will be no match for...Eclipso!

The only Eclipso volume available is rather short, clocking in just shy of 300 pages. But don't worry, it's just as entertaining as the other Silver Age superhero comics. Eclipso was a villain created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias. These stories are from House of Secrets #61 - 80, which run from July 1963 to October 1966. Bob Haney wrote all the stories. The art is basically a split between Alex Toth and Jack Sparling.

For those that don't know the character, Bruce Gordon was a famous scientist, exploring advances in solar energy. He was in the jungle, dismissing the locals' superstitions, when he was attacked by a tyrannical witch doctor. The witch doctor lunged too far, however, and threw himself over a cliff. During the struggle, Gordon was scratched by a mysterious black diamond.

The wound causes Gordon to morph into Eclipso, a villain hell-bent on nefarious schemes and treachery. However, he only morphs when exposed to an eclipse. In the earlier stories, the causes and effects of Eclipso are not very clear, but once Haney irons out the details, it breaks down like this:

• Artificial eclipses cause Gordon to morph temporarily into Eclipso
• Natural eclipses cause Eclipso to become a separate entity
• Harming one will harm the other
• The only way to force Eclipso back into Gordon is with a burst of light

I will point out that an "artificial eclipse" can be something as simple as someone walking in front of a light bulb, and a "burst of light" can be achieved in countless ways. Haney exploits both quite often. But then again, natural eclipses occur 2.4 times per year on average, so it's understandable. Yet even so, it seems like natural eclipses occur every few months according to these stories. Haney tries to justify it by having Gordon travel to different locations around the world, but even so, it's a laughable stretch. The origins and creation of the character are weird enough though, so it doesn't really bother me that much.

Wire.

Comet tail.

Dark lens.

Disc.

Another disc.

Sparks.

Light bomb.

A rock.

Flare.

Another disc.

Camera flash.

Light passing a window.

Fireworks.

Battery discharge.

Spotlight gun.

Searchlight.

Another light bomb.

Another light bomb.

Another light bomb.

As with every DC hero of the era, Gordon has a love interest. Her name is Mona Bennett, daughter of Gordon's mentor, Professor Bennett. Unfortunately, Gordon can't marry her because of...Eclipso! She and her father eventually discover Gordon's secret, and work with him to figure out a way to banish Eclipso forever.

Eclipso uses the powers of "black science" to perform his various deeds of villainy. He can hold the black diamond up to his eclipsed eye to shoot rays of black light, effectively blinding whoever is in the way. He can also hold it up to his non-eclipsed eye, which will shoot out bolts of pure energy. In later stories, he also gains the ability to levitate objects as well as use "spectrum powers," which shoot beams of light at different frequencies. These later powers are rarely used, though they would greatly assist Eclipso at nearly every turn. It also must be annoying to have to hold up that diamond every time Eclipso wants to do something, since it effectively means he can only have one arm open at all times. The fact that one eye is always closed means that Eclipso has absolutely no depth perception, which must also be a hinderance.

People are simply blinded, but they act like they've been physically hit.

Since Eclipso and Gordon are one and the same, Eclipso possesses Gordon's brilliance. This means that whenever Gordon lays out a plan to get rid of Eclipso, Eclipso himself knows the plan before he even materializes, and can therefore quickly stop it before it even starts. Sadly, Gordon, Mona and her father never seem to quite grasp this fact.

Some of these plans include locking Gordon in a secure chamber to prevent Eclipso from escaping (Eclipso simply altered the lock beforehand), or setting up a bright light right in front of Gordon before he transforms (Eclipso merely punches out the light). Eventually, Mona and Professor Bennett start carrying around "photon grenades," which emit burst of intense light, in order to stop Eclipso. Gordon himself is also working on an "ultraviolet gun," which will somehow cause Eclipso to be on the side of good instead of evil. It actually works eventually, effectively defeating the purpose of Eclipso existing. Oops.

Many times, Eclipso will release some dangerous threat, but then realize after the fact that if Gordon is killed, so too will Eclipso die. So he's forced to stop the danger he himself unleashed, usually being tricked back into Gordon at the end. For being so brilliant, both Gordon and Eclipso are pretty stupid.

So Eclipso's "plan" to avoid being tracked is 100% in opposition to his not being tracked.

Gordon and crew always keep track of when natural eclipses will occur, so that they can be prepared for Eclipso's imminent arrival. However, they nearly always forget until it's already too late.

I was surprised at how consistent and coherent all of the stories were. There's actual continuity throughout the whole thing, which is surprising since it's Bob Haney. After reading the first Brave and the Bold volume, I was expecting much of the same straight up wackiness.

Thankfully I wasn't completely let down.

The biggest thing that bothered me was that in nearly every instance, Gordon and Professor Bennett would walk into traps set by Eclipso. They would state that Eclipso must have planned and set up the trap during his last emergence from Gordon's body. However, the last time he appeared was in the previous story, and he definitely didn't have enough time to do any setting up of anything. Complex plots and tasks that would have taken weeks if not months are casually attributed to Eclipso. But Gordon knows and keeps track of exactly when Eclipso will and does appear. There's no way he would have had any time to perform these feats. They include traveling across the world to alter top-secret machines, creating and leading a criminal organization across an entire nation, building giant robots to destroy/enslave major cities, and the like.

"Yeah, I had a few minutes last time so I whipped this baby up."

It was just a glaring error across the whole thing. Eclipso doesn't have the power of flight or anything like that. Where is he getting the materials and financial resources for all of these elaborate (not to mention expensive) schemes? How does he have time to travel across the world all the time, especially to a country that Gordon will unknowingly be invited to weeks later?

The only other super-characters that appear are Helio and Prince Ra-Man, both characters that really don't have anything to contribute and quickly fade away.

Eclipso is referred to as, "the most daring character ever created in comics!" Which is kind of true, I guess, because it's kind of a ridiculous premise, especially when you look at the details of the characters' relationships. Hell, he was probably created on a dare, and the bet was they couldn't get it to work and no one would accept it. But if there's one man who would take that dare, it's Bob Haney.

Toth's and Sparling's artwork is good. Panel layouts are creative, character faces show lots of expression, artwork isn't recycled whatsoever, there's lot of cool perspective shots, and people actually look like individuals (as opposed to cookie cutter models). I liked it.

Recommended? Probably not. There are better things out there, and the stories eventually turn formulaic, and after Gordon effectively makes Eclipso a good guy, there's not really any reason to continue anyway. I'm not surprised the character never really made a name for himself. The 1990s re-imagining added a lot more to the character, so if you're really interested in Eclipso, that era would probably be more interesting.