TP Comics

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe was the first comic book I bought regularly, which led to a lifetime of comic book collecting.  The original series  was published by DC Comics from cover date March 1985 to cover date April 1987, with updates and spin-offs published in the following years. In all my years of collecting Who's Who, this is the most obscure find to date. Following a miniseries ( The Shadow War of Hawkman #1 to #4 ) and a special ( Hawkman Special #1), Hawkman was given an on-going series, with issue #1 cover dated August 1986.  It included a single Who's Who entry (minus the trademark yellow border) for Shadow-Thief, a long-time Hawkman villain who was featured in that issue.  In the letter column which follows, writer Tony Isabella (now Jenny Blake) asks "Would you like to see more Who's Who pages like the one in this issue?  Or do you prefer two full pages of letters and answers?  Inquiring editors want to know."...

The second season of Batman  premiered Sept. 7, 1966, with the conclusion airing the following night, Sept. 8, 1966.  While most of the second season episodes followed this pattern, there are a few exceptions noted below.  E pisode synopses are from Amazon Prime Video.  Season and Episode numbers, based on Amazon's wonky numbering scheme, are given first.  Sequential numbering of episodes, as listed in The Official Batman Batbook by Joel Eisner, are listed second.   Bulleted notes are my own insights.   S201A E1 & E2 |  Season Two, Episodes 35 & 36 "Shoot a Crooked Arrow"   Archer and his gang have come to Gotham City, winning the public's favor with their Robin Hood-style deeds of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. "Walk the Straight and Narrow"  Batman and Robin escape their previous peril and are back in action seeking to foil the Archer and his gang.  The Archer is a villain created for the sho...

Though there were other comics series with similar names before and after, the longest-running  Secret Origins  comic book was published by DC Comics from April 1986 to August 1990.  It included 50 regular issues, three annuals, one special edition... and one trade paperback. The Secret Origin of... THE BATMAN While we are still waiting for a hefty Secret Origins omnibus reprinting the entire classic anthology in one or more volumes, DC did publish a trade paperback of a number of stories from the series in 1989.  Officially titled  Secret Origins of The World's Greatest Super-Heroes, the trade paperback reprinted the origin of the Justice League of America from issue #32 as well as some of the JLA members, including Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) from issue #32, The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onnz) from issue #35, and The Flash (Barry Allen) from Annual #2.  Since  Secret Origins told the stories of the Golden Age Superman (issue #1) and Batman (issue #...

Though there were other comics series with similar names before and after, the longest-running  Secret Origins  comic book was published by DC Comics from April 1986 to August 1990.  It included 50 regular issues, three annuals, and one special edition.  This series of blog posts focuses on the stories that would have, should have, or otherwise follow the spirit of that series. The Secret Origin of... NEPTUNE PERKINS Neptune Perkins, a relatively obscure character, first appeared in a Hawkman story in Flash Comics #66 (cover dated August 1945).  Perkins would return in another Hawkman story in Flash Comics #81 (cover dated March 1947).  He would not return again until All-Star Squadron #33 (cover dated May 1984).   Jean-Marc Lofficier, in All-Star Companion, Volume 3, tells how the story of the Earth Two Aquaman for the Secret Origins anthology became the secret origin of Neptune Perkins told in issues #16-#19 of The Young All-Stars: " One of...

Though there were other comics series with similar names before and after, the longest-running  Secret Origins  comic book was published by DC Comics from April 1986 to August 1990.  It included 50 regular issues, three annuals, and one special edition.  This series of blog posts focuses on the stories that would have, should have, or otherwise follow the spirit of that series. The Secret Origin of... AQUAMAN This is one of the "could have" stories.  Aquaman Special #1 (1989) told "The Legend of Aquaman" according to the title on the cover.  This legend was different than the "pre-Crisis" telling of Aquaman's origin.  As John Wells writes in Back Issue magazine #98 (August 2017): "Nearly four years into the existence of the post-Crisis DC Universe, the approach to its history was changing. Exceptions like Superman, Wonder Woman, or Captain Atom notwithstanding, there was still an overall view that the Earth-One origins for most characters still...

Though there were other comics series with similar names before and after, the longest-running  Secret Origins  comic book was published by DC Comics from April 1986 to August 1990.  It included 50 regular issues, three annuals, and one special edition.  This series of blog posts focuses on the stories that would have been, should have been, or otherwise follow the spirit of that series. The Secret Origins of... Super Powers Super Powers was a Kenner toy line that consisted of three waves of DC Comics super hero action figures, each with some sort of "super power" that was usually activated by squeezing the figure's legs together.  In addition, there were a number of vehicles released, as well as a Hall of Justice playset.  A collector case for the first wave of action figures was also sold.  It appeared in toy catalogs around 1984.  The exterior of the case was designed to look like a "giant comic book" and the interior of the case featured "biog...