1st Issue Special started out with much hope and keen interest – the likes of Kirby, Simon, and Ditko creating or updating concepts for the title, surely readers would wish to see some of these characters return in their own titles? Well, that wasn’t the case for any of the ideas in issues one through seven. But with 1st Issue Special 8, a new character appears, one who can be said to be the only success of the title’s short period of publication. Enter Warlord, a sword-and-sorcery character created by Mike Grell whose ongoing title lasted for more than a decade. After leaving the jungles of Vietnam, Grell headed into the less-risky world of art and cartooning. After working on stories in Action and Detective Comics, Grell invented Warlord as the star of a new title – one which was to launch as the year turned from 1975 to 1976. But for Warlord’s first tale and origin story, DC decided to place it in 1st Issue Special. This story sadly means that 1st Issue Special’s one claim to fame – that it started the career of Mike Grell’s Warlord – isn’t totally true. An ongoing series had already been commissioned. Nonetheless, it stands tall as one of the notable issues of DC’s bronze age…
1st Issue Special 8-13 was published from November 1975 to April 1976. Written by Mike Grell, Martin Pasko, Joe Simon, Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, and Dennis O’Neil, with art by Mike Grell, Walt Simonson, Jerry Grandenetti, Creig Flessel, Frank Redondo, Al Milgrom, Mike Vosburg, and Mike Royer. With issue 13, DC cancelled the title and replaced it with Secret Society of Super-Villains.
The Warlord --- Written and drawn by Mike Grell
When reading 1st Issue Special 8, due to the number of issues featuring Warlord that follow, there is a sense of weightiness to it that other tales in the title thus far have lacked. Is that simply because we know with hindsight that Warlord was a success, or because of the quality of Grell’s writing here? It begins on our earthly plane in 1969 – military figure Travis Morgan is flying over Russia when he inadvertently strays into their aerospace, resulting in Russian missiles attempting to shoot him down. Morgan is forced to abandon ship, but when he parachutes out, he finds himself not in the North Pole as expected, but a jungle with a strange sun above the leaves. Enter Skataris, an underground realm existing below the surface of the world, but above the hot core. Thankfully, Grell doesn’t explore too much detail or pseudo-science about this realm’s existence. Instead, we follow Travis Morgan as he explores this bizarre world and fight giant reptiles and dinosaurs. None of the characters that Morgan meets speak any English, but he begins to learn more about this world of sword-and-sorcery. Very quickly – too speedily really – Morgan becomes the king of Skataris, leading with his wife Tara, the first woman he met when he somehow arrived in this very different world. And with a wife also comes an arch-nemesis – Lord Deimos, a foe who is not impressed or pleased by Warlord’s heroics. Grell ends the issue teasing more, a promise fulfilled as Warlord 1 was published in February 1976. Grell brilliantly creates a new world with clear intrigue, but also a great deal of mystery too. Theories surrounding the existence of Skataris remain, and witnessing Warlord embrace a whole new culture would make for interesting stories. Sadly, we get very little of that here – the pacing is too quick for readers to really absorb aspects of Grell’s world. There also isn’t a good deal on Travis Morgan himself, and what life on Earth he is leaving behind. I’m sure these are issues which Grell explores in his titanic Warlord run in the decade that follows. Overall, 1st Issue Special has got a good mixture of action and exploration; the core reason for its clear difference compared to other issues from this title is that Grell has created an entirely new world with new faces. That creativity succeeded in making Warlord a fan-favourite.
With Grell enjoying much creative control over this issue, as the penciller and inker he translates his creative thoughts into an amazing and beautiful visual world. The forests of Skataris look lush, while its cities appear grand. There is also a sense of mightiness surrounding Warlord, but luckily Grell doesn’t go over-the-top with such physical or muscular strength. It’s also inked well too, and not in a scratchy way which many of Grell’s latter content was.
Doctor Fate --- Written by Martin Pasko with art by Walt Simonson
After Warlord, 1st Issue Special 9 focuses on a much older and mystical hero. Created in 1940, Doctor Fate was a famed-JSA member, but never enjoyed a title or miniseries of his own until the late-1980s. A servant of the god known as Nabu, Doctor Fate resides in a windowless tower and is in something of a civil war with himself – Nabu’s servant differs from Kent Nelson, the civilian archaeologist who makes up the other half of Doctor Fate. Although Martin Pasko does retread the story of Doctor Fate’s origin, with the young Kent Nelson discovering Nabu’s body and unleashing his power, while this inadvertently kills the young boy’s father, he writes a typical ‘hero vs villain story’. At a museum in Boston, a mummy breaks free from an old Egyptian sarcophagus – this is a reincarnated version of Khalis, an old Egyptian who worshipped the gods of evil. Nabu’s servant in Doctor Fate is present to defeat Khalis as he uses his magic and strange powers – one of which includes spawning a giant pyramid and sphinx into the nearby city – for evil purposes. Despite a strange and intriguing foe, Pasko does dig too deep into mysticism, leading to reams of exposition which really doesn’t help readers too much. However, Pasko’s best writing comes with Doctor Fate and his inner war between Nabu and Kent Nelson, whose wife Inza tries desperately hard to rescue her husband from the workings of a god. In the end, with Khalis’s destruction, Inza is happy to accept Doctor Fate as a part of her husband, but in an ongoing title I suspect this drama would re-emerge. Overall, it would have been nice to see Doctor Fate finally enjoy a title of his own, especially if a writer like Pasko was available to make supernaturalism and mysticism more interesting by adding more personal drama into the mix. But I suspect that it wouldn’t have been a great seller…
Walt Simonson’s scratchy and sharp artwork here is appropriate for a character like Doctor Fate, whose world of spirits and darkness wouldn’t suit a lighter and more smooth style. Simonson succeeds in delivering a dramatic and almost-cinematic method of storytelling here – he would have been fine and ideal artist for a Doctor Fate title.
Outsiders --- Written by Joe Simon with art by Jerry Grandenetti and Creig Flessel
After the dismal failure and unreadability of 1st Issue Special 2 featuring the Green Team, can Joe Simon achieve better things with 1st Issue Special 10? The Outsiders was another proposal for a team-book, but the focus here was not on embarrassing kids, but tragic outcasts. Featuring Lizard Johnny, The Amazin’ Ronnie, Hairy Larry, Ol’ Doc Scary, and Mighty Mary, the Outsiders are a group of what – in the days before political correctness and decent manners – were called ‘freaks’.
Simon gives a few pages to each of the characters explaining their origins, with Johnny found at sea as a part-lizard and part-human creature. Meanwhile, we have Billy, a boy with an abnormally large head who lived in hiding. Doctor Goodie was once an astronaut who was captured by aliens who then transformed his appearance with surgery – he becomes Doctor Scary. Other characters, like Mighty Mary, are completely glossed over and aren’t given the time of day! The story is structured as a loop; the story begins with the Outsiders rescuing another outcast on the street from hatred, while the ending presents the Outsiders hearing that same outcast’s plea for help. Essentially, it’s a collection of origin stories – nothing more. There are some interesting concepts were which would have been right at home during the golden and silver ages in titles like House of Mystery or House of Secrets. But I don’t think there was anything here to merit an ongoing series. Simon’s plotting is pretty much non-existent, while his dialogue continues to be atrociously dated. Compared to the likes of the X-Men or the Doom Patrol, the Outsiders are half-baked.
Jerry Grandenetti was the penciller for the previous Simon story, and as before, it doesn’t really work. It lacks much motion and drama – it appears too regular and plain in its appearance. Creig Flessel’s inks are often too heavy to create any nice shadows or lighting.
Code Name: Assassin --- Written by Gerry Conway and Steve Skeates with art by Frank Redondo and Al Milgrom
From here on out, 1st Issue Special was on death’s door. Its sales must have been low, and DC were soon to cancel it. There is usually one poor writer who has to cop for a run as it nears its end – for 1st Issue Special, it was Gerry Conway. Essentially, the last three issues were his – what ideas could he muster up? For 1st Issue Special 11, we have Code Name: Assassin. Ignoring its dreadful name, it wasn’t a concept DC advertised greatly. In the “Story Behind The Story” segment which every issue of the title had before or after the main story, only a few sentences are given about Code Name: Assassin before the editors chip in and advertise other new titles. Despite these unpromising signs, Code Name: Assassin is a forgotten classic of the run. At first, while wearing a dark costume and taking out criminals, the star character does look like a slimmed-down and plainer Batman copy. Plus, he has the wrong name – the Assassin isn’t a killer; he just shoots people with a knock-out gun. Regardless, Conway constructs a story with many twists and turns and a great deal of mystery. Alongside mentions of allies who are now dead, Assassin also can conjure “lethal mental energy” to take out his foes. Conway hints deeply at the mystery, with much of it to be resolved in future issues that never materialised. To defeat Assassin, the mob hire the Snake and Powerhouse, two pathetically dull villains who look like less extreme versions of the kind of enemies that the creators at Image Comics made twenty years later. Towards the end of the issue, it’s revealed that the Assassin’s sister was killed by the mob, and he is out for revenge. Interestingly, Conway writes an Alfred-type figure for him who is a guide – and it was this same person who gave the Assassin his powers of telekinesis due to a scientific experiment. Although the adventures of Code Name: Assassin conclude with the star name fighting the mob’s hired muscle, Conway has clearly created a world which is much more interesting below the surface. There was definitely potential here for an ongoing series, but I feel that it would have run out of steam fairly quickly.
Frank Redondo and Al Milgrom don’t do a bad job here with Code Name: Assassin. All the action is conveyed with impact and there is a real weight to some of the scenes here. For instance, the flashbacks to Assassin’s gritty past are told dramatically, despite some of the heavy inks from Milgrom. It does have the look of a 1970s fill-in story, but it’s by no-means awful.
Starman --- Written by Gerry Conway with art by Mike Vosburg and Mike Royer
1st Issue Special 12 is another Conway classic, one which spawns DC’s fourth Starman. This one is Mikaal Tomas, an alien from another world whose people are plotting to invade Earth. Strongly against his own people, Tomas crash-lands on Earth to warn humanity. A neat concept, Conway writes Starman’s early hours on Earth fantastically. The scepticism of humanity as this new being walks among them is sadly realistic – with some of those who give refuge to Starman phoning up the police shortly afterwards.
Conway writes Tomas sympathetically, especially after the trauma on his home world as they see humanity as their next target. Tomas’s people send Turran Kha after Starman in an attempt to silence him, and that is where Starman’s story ends for the issue. Conway doesn’t release all the details too quickly, and it’s great to see a kind of moral dilemma develop, whereby Starman wishes to rescue mankind who want little to do with him. It’s a great shame that Tomas’s story concludes here – this is exactly the kind of story that would have worked as a four or six-issue miniseries. Instead, Starman was to be abandoned for years until James Robinson would resurrect and revamp his story in the 1990s.
Although a bit too regular, Mike Vosburg is no bad artist and Mike Royer helps dramatize his pencils. It can look slightly off at times, but it’s not too shabby.
Return of the New Gods --- Written by Gerry Conway and Dennis O’Neil with art by Mike Vosburg
Alongside Warlord, the only other concept to receive its own title here was the New Gods. But unlike Grell’s creation, the New Gods were not a new idea. Jack Kirby created the Fourth World saga from 1970 to 1973, with The New Gods (vol 1) consisting of one of its four main titles (the others being Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, Mister Miracle, and the Forever People). After Jack Kirby was forced into abandoning the Fourth World titles by editor Carmine Infantino, only Mister Miracle remained before even that fizzled out. For 1st Issue Special 13 – the title’s last issue – Conway and Dennis O’Neil (bizarrely, considering his fondness for writing more gritty and less sci-fi based stories) return us to the horrific war between New Genesis and Apokolips. Events continue from where Kirby left them, which means that excluding Metron now more clearly on the side of Highfather, everything is as it’s always been – the two sides cannot stand one another! Sporting a new look, Orion’s duel against Kalibak takes us to Earth – the centrepiece of Darkseid’s newest evil plan. Darkseid has attuned his heartbeat to the rhythms of the Earth’s sun, meaning that if he died, the Sun would explode, and Earth would be obliterated. The story here is that Highfather and other defenders of New Genesis must locate Orion and prevent him from killing Darkseid. Despite the silliness, I’m at least happy that Conway hasn’t spent too many pages recalling events from previous issues of the Fourth World saga.
Readers are briefly brought-up-to-speed about the exchange of sons between Highfather and Darkseid, but this is common knowledge amongst most comic book fans. In the end, there is no fight or great moment of drama – Darkseid laughs when his plan has been spotted and instead hints of future fights are made. It’s a slightly disappointing end. A year after this issue, the New Gods relaunched, continuing the numbering from the original Kirby run. With Conway at the helm, the never-ending war continues. Admittedly, I’m no great Fourth World fan, and while this story is entertaining and more than a simple reupdated selection of origin stories, I struggle to see where the title can go from here. The war between the two planets does become very tiresome after a while, and perhaps that explains why Conway’s relaunch only lasts eight issues.
Compared to Jack Kirby, Mike Vosburg’s art is pretty regular stuff. It still contains its moments of drama but doesn’t have the spectacle or impressiveness of previous tales of the Fourth World saga. It does look plainer, but it does have its moments which clearly nod towards the King.
VERDICT
Overall, looking at the thirteen issues of 1st Issue Special, it cannot be considered to be a brilliant success story. Out of the thirteen stars, just two of them received their own title – one of which was pre-agreed and the other a relaunch. Despite this poor record, it’s definitely a title to look back on fondly. It’s a fantastic showcase not just of ideas, but of talent, with many of the biggest names of the medium having some role to play in an issue here-and-there. Kirby’s Atlas and Manhunter are nice little additions to the King’s colossal output, the Dingbats, less so. Steve Ditko’s return (to the art, at least) to the Creeper is very welcome, while Warlord’s long-lasting success will always be tied to 1st Issue Special. Conway’s three tales in the series are pretty good, and even the one-offs featuring Doctor Fate, Metamorpho, and Lady Cop aren’t bad. Really, it’s only Joe Simon’s two issues which are the weakest, and that’s a great shame given his prowess and reputation as a legend of the golden age. Although it’s easy to see why many of these ideas didn’t receive their own titles, I think of 1st Issue Specials very fondly due to its experimentation and showcasing of ideas and talent – it’s something which the DC of today wouldn’t dare even contemplate.
Next Week: Hawk and Dove: Ghosts and Demons (Hawk and Dove (vol 2) 1-5). Written by Karl and Barbara Kesel, with art by Rob Liefeld and Karl Kesel.
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