#Story by Steve Gerber

[keycomicbooks]

Marvel Two-In-One #3 (1974) Gil Kane Cover, Sal Buscema Pencils, Story by Steve Gerber, Thing and Daredevil Team-Up

#MarvelTwoInOne #3 (1974) #GilKane Cover, #SalBuscema Pencils, Story by #SteveGerber, #Thing and #Daredevil Team-Up "Inside Black Spectre!" Daredevil goes head-to-head with Black Spectre! Mister Fantastic makes an appearance! SAVE ON SHIPPING COST - NOW AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL PICK UP IN DELTONA, FLORIDA https://www.rarecomicbooks.fashionablewebs.com/Marvel%20Two%20In%20One.html#3  #RareComicBooks #KeyComicBooks #MarvelComics #MCU #MarvelUniverse #ComicBooks #NerdyGifts #KeyIssue

[cantsayidont]

January 1982. "Creepy" and "surreal" are not words normally associated with Bronze Age Superman stories, but they're apt descriptions of the 1982 miniseries THE PHANTOM ZONE by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan. Probably inspired by the 1980 movie SUPERMAN 2, the mini begins with a recap of the history of the Phantom Zone, discovered by Superman's father Jor-El as a means of imprisoning Kryptonian criminals, but this is no E. Nelson Bridwell continuity-charting affair: The Phantom Zone inmates stage a mass escape, wreaking bloody havoc on Earth as Superman and an amnesiac former prisoner named Quex-Ul, forced to take the escapees' place, begin a perilous journey to the heart of the Zone, which is far stranger than Jor-El had ever imagined.

Most of the Phantom Zone villains who appear in this story had been seen before, but Gerber makes them actually frightening, a collection of madmen and human monsters who were scary enough on Krypton, without the incredible powers bestowed by Earth's yellow sun. Gerber also emphasizes the horror of the Zone itself — being imprisoned, possibly forever, as a thought without form — and his revelation of what the Zone actually is is unexpected. None of this would have worked if the series had been drawn by Curt Swan, but the art by Gene Colan (inked by Tony DeZuñiga) lends a sweaty, claustrophobic nightmare vibe to Gerber's script.

DC reprinted the miniseries in the SUPERMAN: PHANTOM ZONE trade paperback in 2013, also including Gerber's followup in DC COMICS PRESENTS #97, drawn by Rick Veitch, which is unsettling in its own right, and much meaner than Alan Moore's contemporaneous "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" (That collection shouldn't be confused with the earlier TALES FROM THE PHANTOM ZONE TPB, which is a compilation of Silver Age Phantom Zone stories.)

[titleknown]

...You know, given how Konami seems like they'll basically license out Castlevania to anybody these days, I think it would be very cool and funny if Igarashi got the rights to do a crossover between Bloodstained and Castlevania and used it to smuggle out his characters ala how Steve Gerber did it with Howard The Duck.

[poisonousquinzel]

Batman: The Animated Series Harley Quinn being the Blueprint for Modern Harley Quinn

my actual version of this post

Working On The Side Of / With The Batfam

Harlequinade (EP) • "Batman and Robin have no time to spare in stopping the Joker from detonating an atomic bomb, so they enlist the help of Harley Quinn to hunt the Joker down."

Batgirl Adventures • "When Poison Ivy is captured by mobsters, Harley Quinn must act quickly to save her, so she turns to the only hero she can find: Batgirl!"

Batman: Gotham Adventures #43 • "Who's out to get Harley Quinn? Batman has to take her on as a sidekick to find out. The answer awaits deep in Harley's history...that is, if she and the Dark Knight survive the traps set for them all over Gotham!"

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 1 (2020) #12 | Season 3 #2, #5, #7

-

Also before anyone comes @ me all "oh but what about her participating in the Death in the Family storyline", I've made a post here talking about the exacts of Harley's involvement in Jason's death.

Trying To Have A Better, Reformed Life / Redemption Arc

Batman: The Animated Series "Harley's Holiday"

Batman: Gotham Adventures #10

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 (2023) #2

Ending Scene In Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker

Being A Little Goofy Gal

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 2 (2020) #7

Batman: The Animated Series • "Holiday Knights", "Harlequinade", "The Man Who Killed Batman"

Dressing Revealingly / Being Sexual

Batman: The Animated Series • "Harley & Ivy", "Harley's Holiday", "Holiday Knights", "Beware The Creeper"

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Being Bisexual (cry about it♡)

Paul Dini: When Bruce and I did the Harley and Ivy miniseries, it was certainly implied that [Ivy and Harley] had a relationship with each other—they shared hugs and kisses. I didn’t want that to overpower what the story was, but the relationship between them is so natural.

Paul Dini: The more I worked with [Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy], the more I could see [a romantic relationship] happening. Unfortunately, at the time, in an animated kids cartoon, you really couldn’t get into the complexity of that or honor what a relationship like that could really be. We just showed them together as friends and on fairly intimate terms when they were out of the costume, but nothing was implicit because if we couldn’t do that relationship properly then we didn’t want to do it at all.

Batman: The Animated Series • "Holiday Knights"

Batgirl Adventures (1997)

Love Is Love (2016)

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #2-7

Breaking The Fourth Wall

Batman: The Animated Series • "Harley's Holiday"

HQ, turning her head towards the camera: "Talk about grasping at straws. Oh, well, at least I'm going out on a joke."

Being A Domestic Violence Victim (And That Being A Prevalent Aspect Of Her Story)

"Everyone else sees the Joker laugh, only Harley has ever seen him cry. It's the only reason she stays with him.

Harleen, having once been a therapist, has touched onto his vulnerability. She knows who he is underneath. That’s what keeps her there."

- Arleen Sorkin [Batman: Animated | Interview Add-On Comment]

Batman: The Animated Series • "The Laughing Fish", "Harley & Ivy", "Mad Love"

Justice League • "Wild Cards"

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love (comic)

Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel)

Batman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures Episodes

Harlequinade Aired: May 23, 1994 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Kevin Altieri

Harley's Holiday Aired: October 15, 1994 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Kevin Altieri

Holiday Knights Aired: September 13, 1997 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Dan Riba

The Man Who Killed Batman Aired: February 1, 1993 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Bruce Timm

Harley & Ivy Aired: January 18, 1993 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Boyd Kirkland

Beware The Creeper Aired: November 7, 1998 Writer: Rich Fogel Story by: Steve Gerber Director: Dan Riba

The Laughing Fish Aired: January 10, 1993 Writer: Paul Dini Director: Bruce Timm

Mad Love Aired: January 16, 1999 Writer: Paul Dini Story by: Bruce Timm & Paul Dini Director: Butch Lukic

Justice League Wild Cards Aired: December 6, 2003 Writer: Stan Berkowitz and Dwayne McDuffie Director: Butch Lukic

Ending Scene In Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker Story: Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm Screenplay: Paul Dini Director: Curt Geda

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love Writers: Paul Dini, Bruce Timm Pencilers: Bruce Timm Inkers: Bruce Timm Colorists: Bruce Timm, Rick Taylor Letterers: Tim Harkins Editors: Scott Peterson, Darren Vincenzo

Batman: Gotham Adventures #43 Writers: Scott Peterson Pencilers: Tim Levins Inkers: Terry Beatty Colorists: Lee Loughridge Letterers: Albert DeGuzman Editors: Joan Hilty, Harvey Richards

Batman: Gotham Adventures #10 Writers: Ty Templeton Pencilers: Rick Burchett Inkers: Terry Beatty Colorists: Lee Loughridge Letterers: Tim Harkins Editors: Darren Vincenzo

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 1 #12 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Ty Templeton Inkers: Ty Templeton Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Andrew Marino

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 2 #7 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Rick Burchett Inkers: Rick Burchett Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Andrew Marino

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #2 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Kevin Altieri Inkers: Kevin Altieri Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Andrew Marino, Ben Meares, Katie Kubert

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #5 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Ty Templeton Inkers: Ty Templeton Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Ben Meares, Andrew Marino, Katie Kubert

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season 3 #7 Writers: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini Pencilers: Ty Templeton Inkers: Ty Templeton Colorists: Monica Kubina Letterers: Josh Reed Editors: Ben Meares, Andrew Marino, Katie Kubert

Batgirl Adventures (1997) Writers: Paul Dini Pencilers: Rick Burchett Inkers: Rick Burchett Colourists: Rick Taylor Letterers: Albert DeGuzman Editors: Scott Peterson, Darren Vincenzo

Love is Love (2016) Writer: Paul Dini Illustrator: Bill Morrison Colourist: Robert Stanley Letterer: Sal Cipriano

Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel) Written By: Pat Cadigan and Paul Dini

I am aware this last one isn't technically in the BTAS universe, but later on in the novel, it blends into the Mad Love comic/episode and then goes past it. I only used scenes that were originally featured in the comic/episode as they are just those scenes in a purely written form.

Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel) Pg. 261 He lowered his head and slumped, the very picture of dejection. Harley couldn’t stand to see him that way. She cuddled up next to him and took him in her arms. “I know how to make some smiles, puddin’,” she said in a playful, sultry voice. His whole body stiffened under her touch. “Puddin’?” But she knew it was hopeless; she’d done the wrong thing again. A moment later, he was leading her down the stairs by her nose, pinching it so hard between his thumb and forefinger that she cried out on every step. “Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! That hurts! It really, really hurts! Please, puddin’—” He pinched even harder as he led her to the door, opened it, then turned her around. “How many times do I have to tell you?” he roared, applying his foot to her backside. “Don’t call me puddin’!” Harley scrambled to her feet just as he slammed the door in her face. She started to beg him to let her in but suddenly all the fight went out of her and she sank down to sit cross-legged in front of the door. Thrown out again; how many times was this? She’d lost count. No, she hadn’t. This was the twenty-fifth time. That averaged out at roughly three times a week for the past two months. - Harley Quinn: Mad Love (Novel) Pg. 255 “Hey, that’s a real gasser, ain’t it, Mistah J?” she said between giggles. In the next moment, Gordon thought the nitrous was making him hallucinate as events took a sharp turn into the surreal. The Joker grabbed the floppy points on Harley’s hat, pulling her to him so they were nose to nose. “I deliver the punchlines around here!” he bellowed into her face. “Got that?” “Yessir,” Harley Quinn said, her voice tiny and fearful. The Joker shoved her aside and the jolly Clown Prince of Crime persona was back.

[kstarlitchaotics]

On this day in 1968, Steve Ditko and Don Segall’s DC character Jack Ryder aka The Creeper debuted in Showcase #73. The Creeper made his first appearance in animation in Dan Riba, Rich Fogel, and Steve Gerber’s ‘The New Batman Adventures’ 1998 episode “Beware the Creeper”.

Enthusiastic reporter Jack Ryder (Jeff Bennett) is doing a story on the upcoming anniversary of Gotham City’s worst criminal, the Joker, at the place he was created: ACE Chemical Pant. Joker (Mark Hamill) and his goons crash this mini documentary and attack Ryder. Although Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Robin (Mathew Valencia) arrive on the scene, the Clown Prince of Crime sprays Ryder with Joker laughing gas and pushes him into a vat of chemicals. Once Ryder emerges, he not only has yellow skin, green hair and a maniacal grin, he has gained super strength. Jack Ryder makes the transformation complete calling himself “The Creeper” and wants to seek revenge on The Joker.

Meanwhile, Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) greets Joker at their hideout and rises out of a pie celebrating Joker's 7th anniversary since his own transformation. Joker, however, is more concerned about The Creeper going around town plagiarizing his act. To help her puddin', Harley finds Creeper at a club confronting some of Joker's men and Ryder becomes smitten by Harley Quinn and starts acting like, well, a creep. This leads to a pursuit involving the Jokermobile, Harley hitting Creeper with her hammer filled with bricks, and Batman eventually de-escalating the situation by giving Creeper a sedative in the form of a patch that will turn him back into Jack Ryder. In the end, Ryder decides living life as The Creeper is too much fun, removes the patch and lets out a crazy laugh. Steve Ditko and Don Segall’s brightly colored character that debuted 56 years ago translated fantastically into this Dark Deco animated world, making “Beware the Creeper” an underrated late episode within this classic 1990s television show.🦇

[the-gershomite]

Giant-Size Defenders #5 -July 1975-

cover and part (1-19 of 32)

"Eelar Moves in Mysterious Ways!"

story plotted by Steve Gerber, Gerry Conway, Roger Slifer, Len Wein, Chris Claremont, and Scott Edelman

scripted by Steve Gerber

art by Don Heck

inked by Mike Esposito

backgrounds inked and lettered by Dave Hunt

colors by G. Roussos

[catboyrichardkarinsky]

hello hi hm do you mayhaps have any howard the duck fun facts that movie Fasinated me

you have activated my autism from over a year ago so Brace Yourself because this is straight up going to be a history lesson in. duck comic/movie

i think I'm just going to tell you the full history of Howard as a character. yeah sorry.

so Howard was created kind of as a joke in 1974 in a marvel comic series called Adventure into fear written by Steve Gerber. he didn't intend on using this smoking, swearing, slightly off donald duck parody of a character very much and just killed him off like an issue after introducting him but people really didn't like that. like REALLY didn't like that. they sent in dead ducks to marvel through mail as protest I'm Not even joking!

so Gerber brought Howard back in the Giant-sized Man-thing series. this is where the lore of him falling to earth from space and landing in Cleveland started. he was sort of having these solo adventures where he fought first a frog man and then a vampire cow (Bessie the hellcow my beloved!!! i love her!!) and also went to jail that was a whole thing. but basically the whole experience left him miserable and suicidal. cut to his solo comic run starting in 1976. Howard the duck comics officially start and it's with Howard contemplating suicide and he gets really close to comitting before he meets Beverly and they go through this little adventure together to escape a financial wizard and fucking Spider-man shows up?? it's a whole thing, Howard ends up moving in with Bev instead of killing himself by the end

I'm not going to explain the whole original Howard comic run I'll just say it's a wild ride that includes Howard running for president (he received actual real life write in votes!!) then having a mental breakdown after fighting a canadian beaver man and bonding with some random neurodivergent girl he met on a bus after fighting with his nemesis the kidney lady again, Beverly being forced to marry a man who calls himself doctor bong and wears a bell on his head then divorcing him after cloning him and threatening to sue for child neglect (Gerber admitted that the drug reference was fully unintentional which is really funny to me), Howard punching a homophobe in the face and etc this is barely scratching the surface.

there's also issue #16 which is infamous for being right before a very big story arc and not having anything to do with the plot because Gerber missed his deadline again and he decided to just. write an essay on deadlines instead. yeah so basically he was too neurodivergent for this and I'm not just saying that he legitimately was neurodivergent he got fired from marvel for missing too many deadlines eventually.

that is when things got.. interesting with Howard. the original run wasn't finished at all yet so they kind of had to get other people to finish it but it didn't really work anymore and then they even made a black and white htd magazine which wasn't very popular but my personal hot take is that I'm a big fan of it actually.

there's also the lawsuit where Disney caught up that this guy looks dangerously similar to donald duck so their solutions was to just.. force Howard to wear pants. well that's an oversimplification they made more rules for how he has to look but the pants thing is objectively the funniest. also this happened back when Gerber was writing Howard he just refused to comfort to these rules so instead they got implemented during the magazine in a pretty iconic storyline imo. anyways the point is there's a lot of insanity around this.

and then the movie. i already mentioned that George Lucas was a big fan of the original comics and wanted to adapt it to a movie but instead of doing it himself he asked his friends Willard Hyuck and Gloria Katz to direct it and while he produced it. except as i also already mentioned said friends knew nothing about the comics and i.. don't think they ever really read them?

there were also a lot of things they wanted to do but couldn't like they originally wanted it to be animated but didn't have the budget, they originally got Robin Williams to voice Howard but he gave up because he found the role too limiting (and I'm honestly glad for that because i wouldn't have ever gotten into htd if it wasn't for Chip Howard) and the fact that they were pretty limited by the studio they were working with into some plot beats. it was kind of just a disaster all around with a lot of creative differences and technical limitations all over the place.

also as i said Robin Williams was supposed to voice Howard originally and they had to replace him really last minute and didn't really know what to do until one of the producers decided to watch a musical called Merrily we roll along starring Chip Zien and asked him if he's interested in being in this movie, telling him he sounds like a duck. which is probably not exactly what you want to hear after performing in a musical but he took the role anyways.

and btw despite everything regarding the production, everyone involved really expected this to be a hit and then it just.. wasn't. like at all. like it's one of the most notorious flop movies today for all the wrong reasons. like there's a lot of valid criticisms one could make about the plot and stuff but I think people just choose to focus on the interspecies part a lot which is upsetting to me. but yeah most of the actors went on to just straight up deny they were in this movie. not Chip and Lea though, they own it proudly which makes me happy

i could also rant a lot more about later Howard adaptations because there's even more insane lore there but i think this is already long enough for now, I'll maybe get back to that later

[nerds-yearbook]

Man-Thing first appeared in the anthology Savage Tales 1# with a cover date of May, 1971. He was created by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Gray Marrow, and Steve Gerber (per Marvel Fandom). He came out the same year as Swamp Thing over at DC (House of Secrets 92#, cover date of July, 1971). The series broke from the limits of the comic book code that regulated most Marvel titles. The issue also introduced (to Marvel) Niord, Horsa, Old Gorm, Atali (their comic adaption created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith), and Princess Lyra, Queen Vega, Syrani, (created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr) . The issue also included a Ka-Zar story and a stand alone story about the rise and fall of the governor of Potonga named Joshua known as The Black Brother. The Fury of the Femizons storyline was continued on in Fantastic Four 151#. ("Conan: The Frost Giant's Daughter", "Femizons: The Fury of Femizons", "Man-Thing: ...Man-Thing!" "Joshua: Black Brother!", "Ka-Zar/Kevin Plunder: The Night of the Looter!", Savage Tales 1#, Marvel print Event)

[thevindicativevordan]

The Phantom Zone

Other than Metropolis, this is the place that should be the most frequent setting for Superman adventures.

An entire dimension full of the worst that Krypton had to offer, but far. far older and more mysterious than even Krypton itself is a setting brimming with storytelling possibilities. Superman even has reason to feel a personal connection to the place, it's the jail his father built, and it puts the sins and shortcomings of Krypton up in his face. Sadly the Zone itself is often left as blank and untouched as it's artistic depictions. A few creators, particularly Steve Gerber, have told stories that made it more than just the place Superman dumps criminals. In Gerber's hands it became a Lovecraftian place, the dreamscape of the god Aethyr with multiple "levels" akin to Dante's depiction of Hell, and that to me is the best approach to the Phantom Zone. A journey to the Zone should be akin to travelling to Hell, fraught with peril and dangerous. Other civilizations, older than Krypton, should have left relics of their passing in the dimension.

My ideal vision for the Zone is that it is full of horrors, monsters banished there because nowhere else could hold them, malfunctioning machines left there to rot that threaten the universe were they to be retrieved, ghost stations that sought to study the Zone and instead only found dark ends, and slumbering gods besides Aethyr that stir in their sleep, disturbed by the intrusions of unfortunates from the material realm.

Something like the Warp from Warhammer 40K fits my vision, a dimension that blurs fantasy, horror, and science fiction all together. The Phantom Zone should have a mystical element to it, the gaping black hole in Superman's world of science fiction. For that reason I think tying Silver Banshee to the Phantom Zone is a brilliant idea. Not only does it provide a connection between her and Superman, explaining why she targets him, but too many of the foes we normally associate with the Zone are evil copycats of Superman powerwise. One concept I love is that the Phantom Zone changes you, your body, your soul, if you stay too long there. Silver Banshee and the Phantom King would be the villains that represent that aspect of it best. Banshee would be the agent of the Phantom Zone in the material world, while Xa-Du is the warlock who manipulates the fabric of the Zone to achieve something resembling necromancy.

Horror and Superman aren't normally two concepts that people think of as being a fit for one another, but the Phantom Zone is where you can tell Superman horror stories, for it's the place full of things that frighten even Superman.

[wanderingmind867]

Did Steve Gerber know the editor of rolling stone or something? How else did he manage to make Daredevil #100 just one big interview between Daredevil and Jann Wenner? Was he just praying he wouldn't get sued!? Because that'd be hilarious, but it surely can't be true. Seriously. Daredevil #100 seems to be mostly just a story recapping Daredevil's origins, but this whole detail makes everything become just that extra bit stranger from a 2024 perspective.

[aboutzatanna]

The Many Faces of Fate

  Given how YJ is currently the most popular adaptation of Zatanna and that version tied the Zataras and Dr Fate together, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how Dr Fate is depicted in the comics since the character and its users are a whole different beast there. (For Zee’s interactions with Dr Fate specifically, see this post).

As of this writing there has been 7 generations of Dr Fate and 9 major characters who has worn the helmet. Wait, wha? This does not include any of the Zataras as that’s specific to the YJ show.

But what does it mean to be Dr Fate?

Are you just an innocent victim held hostage by a powerful being?

 What makes Dr Fate tick? And why has there been so many Dr Fates in the last two decades?

What’s the common thread that binds all the Fates together?

Did you know that one of Dr Fate’s writers passed away in the midst of writing his adventures?  

Also, is the story of Dr Fate just the helmet and cape? I would say, no.  I think the story of Dr Fate is about the person behind the helmet and the beautiful, bizarre adventures they go on, how they are changed due to that responsibility, and how their relationships are impacted by being connected to something so powerful and cosmic. Done right, Dr Fate can be trippy, funny, frightening and downright eerie once you get to know the man behind the helmet. Dr Fate represents the darkside of superhero wish fulfillment.

And none really exemplifies that more than the first person to wear the helmet: 

1/7  Kent Nelson & Inza Cramer:  ‘The Original Fates’  

Kent and his father archaeologist father Sven Nelson were on a trip to Mesopotamia sometime around the 1920′s Whilst exploring an ancient tomb, Kent accidentally set off a trap that released poison gas that killed his father and awakened the ancient being Nabu. The latter ‘adopts’ Kent after he magically erasing Kent’s trauma from his mind. Kent grows to adult hood under Nabu’s tutelage and years later ventures out into the world as Dr Fate.

Does this sound creepy? Yes, yes it does.  

But back in the Golden Age Dr Fate was written no differently from other heroes of that era. He was a master sorcerer but rarely helpless even without his magic: 

He also had a love interest named Inza Cramer who was pulled into his adventures.

(And as we’ll see, Inza wasn’t your typical love interest either.) 

Kent also wanted to be a doctor, a real MD, as well (take that Injustice Harley!): 

It should also be noted that the first Dr Fate stories had his origin take place in the Valley of Ur, Mesopotamia but later iterations would replace that with Ancient Egypt. Another interesting fact is that Nabu is the early iterations was a humanoid alien from the planet Cilia.     

It was when Dr Fate got a back up title in a Flash ongoing that was later collected ‘The Immortal Doctor Fate’ that a creative team began to delve into the dark side of Dr Fate. Although much of it is credited to Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson, wiki also credits Paul Levtiz, Steve Gerber and Keith Giffen as having contributed to the mini as well.    

The series gave a lot of focus to Inza and established why her perspective is so important to Dr Fate.  

The mini showed Kent and Inza living in Tower of Fate, they’re long lived thanks to Fate’s magic but Inza has to ‘share’ Kent with Nabu. Even when he is tired and exhausted from being Fate, the helmet doesn’t, it moves on it’s own, it does research on magic when kent’s asleep and when it’s time for action, it possesses Kent again and takes him out for a fight while Inza watches in horror. Sometimes she is not speaking to ‘Kent’ she is speaking to Nabu.  Whilst being young for a long time was great, Inza was not content not having a life of her own.  

This understandably caused a rift between Kent and Inza but surprisingly, it was Nabu/Helmet of Fate that helped repair the relationship by helping them see the world from each other’s perspective:    

The helmet did it because it recognized that Inza was important to Kent and necessary to continue working as Dr Fate. Though likely the ulterior motive is to keep Kent happy and willing to keep working as Dr Fate.   

This take on Dr Fate played like an adolescent fantasy mixed with horror, drama and romance.  The series is also a great opportunity to see Kent and Inza as their own characters and no just an older mentor figures who is clearly set up to pass the helmet down to someone else.    

Inza herself would don the mantle of Fate at one point starting from Doctor Fate Vol 2 #25:  

Originally, her and Kent were meant to combine as one to become Doctor but they couldn’t so Inza had to fly solo. In a role reversal, Kent was now the stay-at-home-spouse while Inza was the superhero.   

Inza even developed a friendship with Wonder Woman and they guest starred in each others titles since they were both written by the same person at the time; William Messner Loebs. Most notably in Wonder Woman #76:  

(It’s Circe, she got better later.) 

And later Inza teamed up with Zatanna when they were both recruited by the Phantom Stranger along with Etrigan the Demon to fight a rampaging Eclipso possessed Spectre in Spectre Vol 3 #17 written by John Ostrander:   

There were times when Inza got carried away as Dr Fate and made mistakes. But overall, she was a more ‘fun’ Dr Fate than Kent. Likely because she wasn’t being manipulated and controlled like Kent has been for most of his life and they were largely free of Nabu’s torment and you got this mix of mundane domestic life mixed with the otherworldly: 

Doctor Fate Vol 2 #25

Source: Doctor Fate Vol 2 #26

but she wasn’t the second Dr. Fate, she was the 4th. There was another couple who got the opportunity before her:   

2/7  Eric & Linda Strauss : ‘The Most Bizarre Dr Fate Duo’ 

In a 4 issue mini series titled Doctor Fate by writer JM DeMattis and artist Keith Giffen we learn that the forces of order is receding that chaos is taking over and the magic that kept Kent and Inza young is wearing off. Inza died and Kent can no longer protect Dr Fate.   

We are introduced to the step mother and step son duo Linda and Eric Strauss. Linda married Eric’s father for money but she regretted that decision as he proved to be an abusive partner. She did however, care for Eric Strauss enough to stay behind as his guardian. Eric is already magically aware and even at a young age claimed he could see Kent and the Lords of Order in a mirror.

At this point, the Lords of Chaos were getting stronger, the magic that kept Kent and Inza young for decades had worn off, Inza was dead and Kent was too beaten to fight the coming forces. He needed a successor.   

One day, when Linda took Eric to the park and whilst lost in thought, Kent comes in and secretly takes away Eric, much to Linda’s horror.   

We are treated to this awesome horror panel by Giffen of Nabu communicating with Eric via a mouth on Kent’s abdomen:  

Kent is more reluctant but Nabu ages Eric into adulthood to fight the agents of chaos as Dr Fate. Of course, Eric is still partially a child, mentally. He is beaten easily by the villain who takes the power of magic for himself.  

Meanwhile, in the Tower of Fate, Linda manages to find Kent and confront him about his actions and also Nabu. I can’t post the whole sequence here but we get this great set of pages of Kent confronting Nabu on how the latter has tormented and manipulated him his whole life:     

 Eric returns to the Tower of Fate and he wants to confront the villain head on but with Linda by his side.  This leads into what made this duo different from  Kent and Inza. Neither chaos and order are inherently good or bad. Eric and Linda have to combine as one being to work as Dr Fate. This is something that Nabu kept from Kent which the latter figured out, allowing the new Dr Fate to forge his own path. Nabu himself ends up rejecting the Lords of Orders offer to live amongst them and returns to earth, this time inhabiting Kent’s decaying corpse as if it were a puppet and serving as a guide and mentor to Eric and Linda.   

Once again, the themes of repressed adolescence, trauma, controlling mentor figures,  the nature of order and chaos, and control pop up in Dr Fate. Remember Kent accidentally killed his father then was ‘Nabu’ whom in later retellings also magically aged him up and used him as an agent. It’s like a horror version of Billy Batson’s Shazam.  Now you have Eric Strauss whom Kent takes in at the behest of Nabu but this time he has to work as one with his step mother. But what exactly does it say? That’s left up to the reader to decide. In a way it reminds me of the 1997 Jumanji movie, something just clicks in your brain when you realize that Alan Parrish’s father and the hunter Van Pelt are both played by the same person.     

The Eric and Linda Strauss Doctor Fate got an ongoing written by DeMattis and drawn by Giffen titled Doctor Fate Vol 2. It was very trippy and the artwork leaned heavily on exaggerating the proportions of Fate’s helmet to almost cartoonish levels:   

It really plays into the idea that despite being aged up, Eric was still a child in his mind.   

Both Eric and Linda had to combine to be Dr Fate but at the same time, they could be Dr Fate individually as well: 

  Though one thing that made added a layer of creepiness to the Eric and Linda duo was Linda having feeling for Eric when he was a child and then contemplating the idea of hooking up with him after he was aged into an adult. Ew. I like the idea of a step son and step mom duo but I could have done without the pedo incest vibes. To DeMattis credit, we are not supposed to see her attraction to Eric as wholesome, even Linda herself is repressing her feelings from the start.  

Side note: DeMattis also wrote the final half of Zatanna’s trippy final arc in JLA and he was also a writer on Justice League Dark Vol 1 when the team faced off against Prayala.  Him and Giffen also wrote the excellent and comedic ‘Justice League Europe’ and Justice League International titles.   

The Eric and Linda Strauss duo didn’t last long. The magic that aged Eric into adulthood had the side effect of also slowly killing him and Linda had to take charge to save him from Darkseid.  After Eric died, Linda took over as Dr Fate, she couldn’t perform as well due to Eric’s death and had to merge with Nabu. Then she ‘dies’ but learns that Eric did not fully die either. In a very trippy story that involves the Phantom Stranger, Eric and Linda are reincarnated into the bodies of a recently deceased couple and their new job was taking care of a child that was of cosmic importance. The story also brought back Kent and Inza Nelson in a newer and younger bodies, this time with Inza as Dr Fate as covered in the Kent and Inza entry.       

From Doctor Fate #25 onwards,  written by William Messner Loebs  with art by Vince Giarrano, Inza Nelson takes over as the new Dr Fate. Initially both Kent and Inza combined to become Dr Fate like Eric and Linda but the process proved to be painful for Kent which left Inza to take over as Dr Fate.   

Much like Martin Pasko did earlier, Messner-Loebs infused Kent and Inza’s characters with lots of humanity and also a good dose of humor which helped ground the characters despite their strange adventures.

But alas, neither Kent nor Inza’s time lasted long. DC during this period didn’t want ‘senior citizen heroes’ and wanted to appeal to hip and young readers. So during the Zero Hour event, the villain Extant aged Kent and Inza to their actual ages and then separated them from their magical artifacts of Dr Fate. 

Kent wanted to recover the artifacts and this lead to him meeting with:       

3/7 Jared Stevens: ‘The Exxxtreme Dr Fate’ 

A mercenary who hunted down the artifacts that Dr Fate uses like helmet and amulet for the now aged Kent and Inza Nelson but the duo found out that the magic no longer works for them and are promptly killed off by the arc’s villain.  

Jared, in gritty 90′s anti hero fashion, melts down Fate’s helmet and fashions it into a dagger which he uses to become the new extreeeme Dr Fate.  Jared is almost universally loathed by writers because he really represented the excess of the 90′s. He was the epitome of the 90′s bad ass anti hero. 

The character even got two ongoings. His first one titled Fate ran for 23 issues and even had a spin off called Scare Tactics  which centered on a band of the same name that was composed of monster. Jared’s second ongoing was titled Book of Fate and was written by Keith Giffen and it wasn’t bad? Was kind of descent? 

He was unceremoniously killed off in JSA #1 (1999) where he appeared at the funeral of the original Sandman, Wesely Dodds, to warn them of a coming threat before promptly falling dead due to being stabbed in the back with his own dagger by the story’s villain.     

   4/7 Hector Hall: ‘The Most Connected & Tragic Dr Fate’ 

In JSA: Secret Files & Origins #1 Wesely Dodds, the original Sandman has a  prophetic dream that tells him about the birth of a child fated to become the next Dr Fate. The child however will be sought after by powerful forces, namely the wizard Mordu. Thus, in Tibet ,  Wesley commits suicide after a confrontation with the Mordru. His and Jared’s death posted above and the search for the new Dr Fate is what kicked off 1999′s seminal JSA series by Geoff Johns, James Robinson and the David S Goyer.   

But the new Dr Fate didn’t turn out to be a new character but a reincarnated version of an existing one; namely Hector Hall.

So even before Hector became Dr Fate he had quite a bit of history which also coincidentally made him the perfect candidate for Dr Fate as well.   

Hector was the son of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Carter Hall and Shiera Hall respectively. Originally the JSA and related characters were set on Earth 2. Hector was cursed from birth by Hath-Set (who also catalyzed the Hawk’s reincarnation cycle) and was born without a soul.  As a child, he felt neglected by his parents who gave more attention to the hero Northwind. 

As a young adult, he donned a suit of Nth metal armor and became known as the hero the Silver Scarab.  Hector joined the Infinity Inc made up of various kids and legacy heroes from the JSA. He fell in love with Lyta Hall, the daughter of the Wonder Woman/Diana and Steve Trevor.   

Unfortunately, the curse of Hath-Set came to pass and after a brief bout of possession and mind control, Hector seemingly died leaving Lyta a pregnant widower.   

But, his death didn’t last long. Hector took the place of Garret Sandford’s Sandman becoming the second Sandman. Hector lived in a dream world and only briefly managed to reunite with his wife. Eventually, Lyta chose to join her husband in the world of dreams.   

Then, in 1985, Crisis on Infinite Earths happened, Earth 2 was no more and the JSA were now incorporated into the main earth. Lyta Hall was no longer the daughter of Diana and Steve Trevor a new character called Helena Kosmatos and a Greek officer.

Hector and Lyta were still living in the dream world and in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series we learn that Hector was being duped by Brute and Glob. They were denizens of Gaiman’s Sandman/Morpheus’ dream realm who escaped and are now manipulating Hector within the dream world of a young abused child, Jed Walker.     

 Morpheus returns to claim what’s his, he dispatches Brute and Glob, reveals that Hector was a ghost all along and tells Lyta that her child would be his now since it was born in the dream realm. Later, Lyta has a severe mental breakdown and unleashing the Kindly Ones on Dream. The latter ‘dies’ but her son, Daniel Hall takes his place as the new Dream.   

Cut to: 1999′s JSA series; Hector is reincarnated, this time in a body of a child of Hawk and Dove.*  He has white hair now, Nabu acts as a more kindly mentor, the previous Dr Fate’s are all in his amulet and he takes down his first villain; the wizard Mordru whom he traps in his amulet.        

*Initially the woman who gives birth to the Fate child was a comatose Lyta which would have meant that she gave birth to her own husband. Which is...ewwww. But later it was revealed that the woman was Dove instead.   

He also reunites with his father, Carter Hall, who, funnily enough looks younger than Hector now:   

Hector’s personal arc in the series was reuniting with his lost wife and there were hints that Nabu knew more than he was letting on.

Hector also needed someone to point out how he changes whenever he wears the helmet and for him, it was his father, who has his own experience with reincarnation:  

At one point Mordru takes over the helmet and the powers of Fate leaving poor Hector trapped in the amulet:  

He manages to regain control again and now has a bitchin’ goatee:   

Sadly, this wouldn’t be the first time that this has happened to him, in a story arc focusing on Black Adam’s war on Khandaq (which interestingly enough is also the basis of the upcoming Black Adam movie), this time it’s Nabu who suddenly switches to being a villain. He traps Hector in the amulet, the other Fate’s were revealed to only be illusions and out of the blue, Hector reunites with Lyta:       

Hector takes back control of the helmet from Nabu and achieved his quest to save his wife. We even got a cameo from Daniel Hall in JSA:  

But:  

Yep, the Vertigo side of DC wasn’t happy with Hector and Lyta being in the JSA. Especially since they were characters who played an important role in Gaiman’s Sandman series.  They didn’t want anything going on in current continuity to mess it up.   

There was a story arc where Hector and Lyta met Brute and Glob again but the story skirts around the edges without outright referencing Sandman.

You see, during the 90′s and 00′s, Vertigo was walled off from the rest of the DCU. It was DC’s mature label.  While characters like Spectre, Zatanna, Madame Xanadu and Phantom Stranger could freely travel between the Vertigo titles and regular DC titles, certain characters like John Constantine couldn’t appear in the main universe. He may be freewheeling around the DCU post Nu52 but back in the 00′s, this was unthinkable. Characters from mainline DCU could sometimes guest star in a Vertigo title (like all the heroes who showed up to Spectre’s funeral in Spectre Vol 3) but certain characters were always walled off. If you as a writer, want to use any of the Endless characters, you have to gain approval from Neil Gaiman himself.     

At the end of the day, Vertigo wasn’t happy with Hector and Lyta being used in JSA. It didn’t matter if Hector and Lyta were pre existing characters, they were now Sandman characters and thus off limits. It should be noted that Vertigo head Karen Berger was also the editor for Wonder Woman during the George Perez reboot. I bring this up due to Lyta’s tertiary connection to Diana and the Amazons.    

So, during DC’s Day of Vengeance event, the Spectre sans host is manipulated by the Eclipso/Jean Loring into warring against all of magic and that meant Hector and Lyta were now targets:   

Nabu in full control of the helmet and amulet takes on the Spectre along with the JSA and the rest of DC’s magical pantheon.   

Meanwhile, Hector and Lyta are trapped in hell and are offered one final reprieve by their son:  

What a meta way to go out.    

Afterwards, Hector and Lyta were basically forgotten by the rest of the DCU.  Wildcat made one comment about needing to find out what happened to Hector and Lyta shortly after they were banished but afterwards, nothing.   Hawkman never made a mention of his son or his disappearance afterwards.  It was as if they just ceased to exist afterwards.  And although Daniel has shown up a couple of times in the DCU afterwards, Hector and Lyta still remains elusive. 

Save for their very brief cameos on the new Earth 2 that was introduced in the JSA title shortly before Johns left the title and a couple of years before the Nu52 reboot:   

It’s sad that Hector, whose story arc is what kicked off the new JSA, ended like this.  Sadly, Hector wasn’t the only one who lost prominence. Sandy Hawkins who was the defacto leader of the new JSA and had a prominent role in the beginning also faded away.  Whereas Hector was forgotten, with Sandy it’s like they didn’t know what to do with him anymore.   

“The we-literally-kick-started-the-modern-JSA-but-nobody-remembers-us--anymore club.” 

Overall, I think Hector is my favorite Dr Fate. Part of it is nostalgia, my introduction to Dr Fate was through his guest appearances in Superman: TAS and JLU where it was Kent Nelson version but when I got into comics, Hector was the first time I got to know the person behind the helmet.  He’s basically an anime protagonist; bad ass parents, cursed from birth, angsty about his dad not paying enough attention to him and later becomes a white haired pretty boy.   

Plus there is something really cool about the son of one superhero taking on the identity of a different hero altogether, one that he happens to fit perfectly as well. It’s a great way to tie two of DC’s most prominent Egyptian based superheroes.    

And yes, you might have noticed that there is a casting announced for a ‘Lyta Hall’ in the upcoming Sandman adaptation in which she will be played by Razane  Jamal. But I doubt that version will have any sort of sort of connection to either Wonder Woman or her new Post Crisis mother Helena Kosmastos nor will there be any connection to Lyta in the comics beyond being ‘widower haunted by the ghost of her husband’, interestingly enough, no word on Hector either. If he was cast, it’s unlikely that all the stuff about him being Hawkman’s son will be included. They might have him pretend to be a variation of the Jack Kirby Sandman or something similar depending on how the rights worked out.   

Not gonna lie, I’m surprised that the Wonder Woman comics never attempted to reclaim Lyta Hall especially when the movie lead to a huge resurgence in the Steve/Diana pairing.

Anyway, this is got kind of long but Hector is easily the most fascinating Dr Fate after Kent and Inza.     

Also check out this blog for more Hector stuff. 

So after Hector and Lyta were attacked in the Tower of Fate by the Spectre, Nabu took over the helmet and amulet and fought the Spectre. The former perished during the fight and at the end Captain Marvel/Shazam tossed the helmet of Fate into space so ‘fate’ will decide who will be the next Dr Fate.  

5/7 Kent V Nelson: ‘The Forgotten Dr Fate’  

Kent V is easily the most overlooked Dr Fate. He was the latest one to wear the helmet before the Nu52 reboot in 2011, what’s more he is the only Dr Fate whose writer died over the course of penning his story.

Kent V Nelson was introduced in Countdown to Mystery #1, prior to that there was a series of one shots titled Helmet of Fate in which different characters from the DCU came across the helmet from Zauriel to Black Alice to Detective Chimp and had to decide if they were worthy of being Fate. 

Kent V Nelson was created by Steve Gerber for Countdown to Mystery, he was a psychiatrist who was happily married and had a daughter but he blew it all by having an affair with a university student. After his wife left him, Kent started to fall into depression but still continued with his practice but one of his clients, who was being possessed by a demon, had a psychotic episode that lead him to shoot up a  Las Vegas Strip mall. Kent was sued by the victims for malpractice and he ended up homeless as a result. 

It’s during these bouts of dumpster diving that he encountered the helmet of the Fate. Initially using it to cover his head from the rain, the helmet taught him his own past and also took him on a tour of his own. Kent also pissed off a demon of hell making an instant enemy.   

Kent also his helmet for gambling. At some point, a series of unfortunate events lead to Kent having a mental breakdown resulting in a suicide attempt leading him to meet a woman named Inza. Not the old Inza but a different one sharing the same name. The implication being that this  guy is not just a long lost relative of the original Kent Nelson but a possible reincarnation.. 

Kent V’s origin story didn’t have a definite ending due to complications the writer Steve Gerber had. After he passed away, several writers wrote their own endings for Kent’s story. The events happened but the end result was always the same: Kent becoming Dr Fate.  

Kent did go on to join the JSA during Bill WIllingham’s run when Flash sought him  out for help in dealing with a super villain attack. But alas his time was short, the JSA had bloated into Legion levels in terms of characters on it’s, so he barely got any screen time and the in 2011 DC rebooted with the Nu52 thus his time was cut short.    

At this point, a lot of long time Dr Fate fans bemoaned the ‘musical helmets of Dr Fate’ that the mantle had become. After DC had rebooted with the Nu52, a new Dr Fate debuted:   

6/7 Khalid Ben Hassen: ‘The Precursor’

Khalid debuted in James Robinson’s Earth 2 title after the Nu52 reboot the DCU. The JSA were back on Earth 2 but now they were younger, hotter and given contemporary origins with no relation to WW2.    

Khalid was working with Kendra Saunders working for a group called the World Police when they stumbled upon a tomb in ancient Egypt. Kendra gets her Hawkgirl gear while Khalid gets the helmet of Fate. 

Khalid is notable for being the first Egyptian to become Dr Fate. He communicated with Nabu both with and without the helmet but his main achillies heel was his declining mental health after he takes off the helmet. Khalid spent a lot of Earth 2 babbling nonsense  next to other characters. It’s also notable that his Dr Fate didn’t have a partner like the previous Fate’s did. Kent had Inza, Erica had Linda and Hector had Lyta. 

After James Robinson left the title, Earth 2 turned into more of an Injustice style fight fest where heroes were killed off, often violently against an evil brainwashed Superman. The title ended on a happier note, with the good guys managing to eke out a victory and a new Justice League forming but they haven’t shown up since.  

Earth 2 was very polarizing especially for long time JSA fans. It depends on how important them being tied to WW2 and being older heroes. A big part of the JSA’s appeal was that they were the old guard mentoring the younger heroes. They represented the history of the DCU. To some writers, this was a boon. To others this made them outdated and unappealing to younger new readers. Hence the constant cycle of the JSA being killed off or replaced by younger, hipper counterparts (like Jared Stevens on this very post) only for the classic versions to make a come back at some point.   

The Khalid incarnation of Dr Fate didn’t stay dead, he would reinvented for the main DCU as part of DCYou, which brings us to:   

7/7 Khalid  Nassour: ‘The Forever (?) Fate’

Introduced in DCYou mini, Khalid was the grand nephew of Kent Nelson, his mother Elizabeth Nelson was his niece and she got inspired by archaeology from him.   She converted to Islam and married  Muhammed Nassour and they had a child, Khalid Nassour.  

Khalid was a med student in NY stumbled upon the helmet of Fate in a Museum and after meeting an Egyptian Goddess pretending to be a cat.   He realizes that he has aptitude for magic and later he is mentored and guided by his grand uncle, Kent Nelson.   

Khalid was at one point possessed by Nabu who wanted to destroy all magic on earth. Eventually his grand uncle passed away and Nabu died JLD Vol 2.  

Khalid has also been adapted in YJ S5 as one Zatanna’s magical proteges focusing on his struggle as a med student who also uses magic as well as the struggle between his faith and the fact that he uses magic. 

Khalid combines elements from his previous Dr Fate’s, he is related by blood to Kent much like Kent V was and he even finds the helmet under benign circumstances and he shares a name with Khalid Ben Hassen. However it does feel like he is missing something.     

While Khalid is a great character in his own right, he is missing some elements that made the other Dr Fate’s stand out. The question is what separates the helm of Fate from other objects that grant great power like a GL ring or invoking the name Shazam?   

As pointed out earlier, the other Dr Fate’s had a disturbing and eerie quality to them. Even Hassen suffered from mental break down because of the helmet. Dr Fate represents the dark side of the wish fulfillment aspect of superheroes.  The helmet is more of curse and rarely a gift. It drains the user.  It’s also serves as a metaphor for co-dependent relationships, having to share your partner with someone else,  repressed childhood trauma and having to sometimes literally grow up fast.  While this is common in superhero fiction, it feels even more pronounced in Dr Fate and there are story lines you can explore with Nabu that you can’t with Batman, Green Arrow or whichever character is meant to serve as a challenging mentor figure.  

It’s weird that the last two Dr Fate’s didn’t have a love interest and they are both poc.  Perhaps more so than any other character, Dr Fate needs someone, a friend or lover to stand besides them and point out how screwed up their situation is and provide a third perspective.  

Also, it would be interesting if we had a gay Dr Fate at some point or an asexual one.  Just to see what the relationship dynamics of that would be like.   

As for why there have been so many Dr Fates, well part of that is due to Kent and Inza never having true successors. As you can see, attempts at successors never really stuck and there is a constant back and forth between bringing back the ‘classic’ Kent and Inza duo or trying again with someone new or someone tangentially related to the original. Nabu going from a neutral force to an antagonistic one to a down right evil character, dying and then coming back again, has become a running gag at this point. The same goes for the Tower of Fate being destroyed, which, much like the GL Corps getting wiped out or the Central Power Battery getting destroyed, has become a running gag at this point.     

Right now, DC seems committed to Khalid Nassour and it will be interesting to see how long he remains as Dr Fate or if there will be a different Dr Fate in the future.   

It also seems like DC wants to skip past any Dr Fate that existed between Kent and Khalid.  Which is sad, because I would like to see someone take a crack at Hector Hall or the Eric/Linda duo (without the creepy romance element). 

Recommended Reading For Dr Fate

(If there is anything you would like for me to add, remove or specify let me know)

For Kent & Inza:

Immortal Doctor Fate  TPB  (Kent & Inza) 

Doctor Fate Vol 2 26-onwards ( Inza as Dr Fate) 

Wonder Woman Vol 2 #76 

Spectre Vol 3 #16  

For Eric & Linda:  

Doctor Fate Vol 1  4 issue mini (Eric & Linda)  

Dorctor Fate Vol 2 #1- 24 (Eric & Linda)

Additional reading:  

Invasion #1 (holiday 1988) Justice League America #31-32 (Oct - Nov 1989) - Linda as Dr. Fate Justice League America #40 (Jul 1990) Justice League Europe #7-8 (Oct - Nov 1989) - Linda as Dr. Fate Justice League International v1 #10 (Feb 1988) - Eric and Linda as Dr. Fate Millennium #3 (Jan 1988) Millennium #5-7 (Feb 1988) Spectre v2 #11 (Feb 1988) Spectre v2 #23 (winter 1989)

For Jared Stevens: 

Fate #1-23

Book of Fate  #1-12

Scare Tactics  #1-12

For Hector Hall: 

Infinity Inc #1-51

Sandman Vol 2 #11-12

JSA Vol 1 #1-80

Doctor Fate Vol 3 #1-5 (mini series)  

For Kent V Nelson

Helmet of Fate (series of one shots)  

Countdown to Mystery   

Reign in Hell   

Justice Society of America Vol 3 #30-35 

For Khalid Ben Hassen  

Earth 2 by James Robinson  

For Khalid Nassour  

Dr Fate (201) as part of DC You.   

Justice League Dark Vol. 2 (2018)  

Justice League Vol 4 #59-71  (as part of the JLD back up series )  

Justice League Vol 4 #72-present  

[keycomicbooks]

Marvel Two-In-One #2 (1973) Gil Kane and Gaspar Saladino Cover, Gil Kane Pencils, Story by Steve Gerber, Thing and Namor Team-Up, 1st Appearances of Zeneg, Tuumar & Mortoid

#MarvelTwoInOne #2 (1973) #GilKane and #GasparSaladino, Gil Kane Pencils, Story by #SteveGerber, #Thing and #Namor Team-Up, 1st Appearances of Zeneg, Tuumar & Mortoid "Manhunters from the Stars!" Wundarr arrives in New York City and comes into conflict with the Thing, with Namor and #Namorita chasing after #Wundarr. SAVE ON SHIPPING COST - NOW AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL PICK UP IN DELTONA, FLORIDA https://www.rarecomicbooks.fashionablewebs.com/Marvel%20Two%20In%20One.html#2  #RareComicBooks #KeyComicBooks #MarvelComics #MCU #MarvelUniverse #ComicBooks #NerdyGifts #KeyIssue

[cantsayidont]

For a long time, the main impetus for DC reprinting any its voluminous back catalog was some promotional or licensing tie-in: a movie, a TV show, some merchandise they were trying to push, or just a popular ongoing book. Given how prominently Dr. Fate was featured in the recent BLACK ADAM movie, therefore, it's surprising and somewhat disheartening that DC didn't take the opportunity to do some kind of greatest hits compilation for the character, who was certainly the best thing about that mostly terrible film.

This is especially unfortunate because you could fit quite a bit of Dr. Fate's Silver Age and Bronze Age non-JSA appearances in a single volume, starting with the two 1965 SHOWCASE team-ups with Hourman shown above, by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson. There are also a number of later team-ups with Superman and Batman:

Fate then got a couple of solo features in the '70s:

Kubert cover notwithstanding, the 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL story, which is written by Marty Pasko, has some really outstanding early Walt Simonson art, while the SECRET ORIGINS OF SUPER-HEROES story has an eight-page retelling of Fate's origin, narrated by Kent Nelson's wife Inza, by the ALL-STAR team of Paul Levitz and Joe Staton.

In 1982, Doctor Fate got his own eight-page backup feature in, weirdly enough, THE FLASH #306–313. Despite what a couple of the covers imply, there wasn't a team-up between the Flash and Fate (who in those days still existed on separate parallel Earths); the Fate strip was just an unrelated second feature.

This strip, written by Marty Pasko and Steve Gerber with spectacular art by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt, presents an array of interesting ideas (some of which obviously paved the way for Giffen's 1987 revamp). Pasko had already established (in the 1975 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL story) that Doctor Fate wasn't exactly Kent Nelson: He was really the ancient Lord of Order Nabu, the entity who trained Nelson in the magical arts, who possessed Nelson's body whenever he put on the Helm of Fate. In other words, the Dr. Fate of these stories isn't so much a man wearing a magical helmet as a magical helmet wearing a man. Nabu has made both Kent and Inza ageless — they both appear about 25, but by this time, they're really in their 60s — but allows them little real control of their lives. Kent has more or less resigned himself to it, but Inza is feeling the strain of being trapped in a magical menage à trois with her husband and an inhuman entity that has little regard for Kent's welfare and even less for hers. Nabu, for his part, seems to exist in a state of constant mystical urgency in which human frailties are an unaffordable distraction.

This could have been really compelling, and it's both graphically interesting and quite strange, but all that is a lot to squeeze into eight-page installments, and having them crammed in the back of one of DC's most conventional superhero books was obviously not optimal. It was also having to compete for Giffen and Mahlstedt's attention with LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, which I assume was why the Fate strip was dropped after only eight installments.

To everyone's surprise, there was even a Doctor Fate action figure in 1984 as part of the Kenner Super Powers line. This came with a little minicomic, which to my knowledge has never been reprinted:

All of this stuff would add up to something in the realm of 230 pages, which would easily fit into a single trade paperback collection with a digestible price point. Maddeningly, DC has already done the color remastering for roughly three-fifths of this material, so even that probably wouldn't be a huge chore (although the Giffen/Mahlstedt stuff, which has a lot of color holds and graphic effects, really calls for more care in remastering than DC has tended to give its older material of late.)

[lil-doodles]

Sketching! This my friends is Melf, or the Elf With a Gun. He first appeared in Defenders #25 from Marvel Comics. He was created by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema. His story is a rabbit hole with no ending. He showed up a handful of times, shot a few random people, and then got hit by a truck. It is still a mystery as to who he was and what his motivations were. A bit of surrealism pretending to be a comic.

[thruheavenandhighwater]

Pairing: Single Dad! Eddie Munson/ Steve Harrington

Requested By: NA

Word Count: 2,033

Series Summary: Eddie left Hawkins in 1986 with no reason to ever return. But now, a few years have passed and life has changed. Eddie finally returns home and has to deal with everything he left behind, including Steve Harrington. This story starts in May 1991.

Chapter Summary: Steve begins work on Eddie's car. They finally have a real conversation about their years apart.

Stranger Things Masterlist

Steddie Masterlist

Series Masterlist

~~~~~

The following evening, while Wayne got ready for work, Eddie took Lucy to Sarah two doors down. He set her diaper bag on the kitchen counter as he held Lucy to his chest. Sarah smiled, mentally keeping track of everything Eddie said about how to care for her.

"She usually eats around 7," he told her. "She'll almost always do six ounces right before bed but sometimes she doesn't finish it all. Hey, can I ask you something?" Sarah seemed surprised, her blonde eyebrows raising as she nodded. "Should she be eating like, real baby food yet? I saw it at the store and I just… I don't know what I'm doing."

"How old is she?"

"Six months."

Sarah smiled to Lucy, all teeth and bright eyes. "Yeah, you can start trying it," she answered. "Think my girls were six or seven months before we started them on Gerber's. Anna didn't like it at first, but Brittany loved it."

Eddie let out a breath of relief. "Okay," he smiled. "I just don't want to fuck everything up."

"You won't," Sarah told him, very matter of fact in her tone. "The fact that you care enough to ask is proof enough of that. Now you go get your car fixed and let me have my newest favoritest baby," she smiled wide again as she put her hands out to Lucy. Lucy let go of her dad's shirt, which she'd been clutching tightly in her small hands since they left the house. She liked Sarah. Eddie thought that had to be a good sign.

Steve was outside the shop when Eddie pulled up. He was leaned back against an old Chevy, a cigarette dangling from his fingers as his head laid back on his shoulders. Eddie felt a little bad about interrupting his moment. Plus, he looked so damn good under the warm summer sun that Eddie almost hated to ruin the moment. He perked up, a smile blooming over his cheeks when he heard the rattle of Eddie's car.

"Since when do you smoke?" Eddie asked as he swung the door closed behind him. "Used to get on me and Paul like flies on shit when we lit up."

Steve smiled shyly, dropping the finished cigarette to the ground and pressing it into the concrete with the toe of his work boot. "Guess I realized there are worse things than a smoke now and then. Go ahead and pull her in," Steve instructed, bending down to open the garage door that led to the shop area.

Eddie got back behind the wheel and drove the car into the shop. Steve pulled the door closed behind him. "Don't need anyone showing up for an after hours brake job," he said. "Present company excluded."

Eddie smiled as he took a seat on a stool near the wall. Out of the way and with a perfect view of the work to be done. And if he just happened to be able to see Steve, bent over his car and working up a sweat, then so be it.

Steve opened the driver's door and popped the hood, securing it with the strut just like he had the day before. "It's your lucky day, my friend," he announced. "One of the parts cars Joe's been hoarding had a beautiful alternator that I think will work just fine for you." And he set to work.

"So," Steve said as his hands worked expertly over the parts that Eddie wouldn't even be able to identify if his life depended on it. "How've ya been?"

"What?"

"How have you been?" Steve asked again, still not looking back at Eddie. He could hear the cocky smile in his voice even if he couldn't see it.

"Well, I'm sleeping on my uncle's shitty couch, trying to raise a baby on a shitty job, and you're fixing my shitty car," Eddie answered, trying to sound lighthearted.

"Okay, yeah, but she's a fairly new development, right?" Steve asked. "What were you up to before Lucy? We got five years to catch up on, Munson."

Eddie smiled to himself as he thought back. Back to 1986. He was barely 20 years old, head full of dreams and nothing but time to make them come true. He sometimes missed that version of himself. The Eddie Munson that believed he would be better than the parents that had left him. That he'd make a life for himself that he would be proud of.

"The first few years were awesome, man," he lamented. "The guys and I found this shitty little apartment right in the city. All four of us squished into two bedrooms and one bathroom. It was small and dirty, but we loved it. Made us feel like real musicians, ya know? Like we were putting in the ground work before we skyrocketed to number one."

"Sounds awful," Steve laughed, the sound echoing around the metal under the hood.

"We loved it," Eddie sighed. "We had some regular gigs at some bars. Nothing crazy, but more people than we ever played for here. For like, two years Andy told anyone who would listen that we were just one show away from breaking big."

"So what happened? Why aren't you headlining The Garden with Guns n Roses?"

"Because Axl Rose is an asshole," he answered, earning another laugh from Steve. "Honestly? We were on our way. But then I met Billie two years ago, she got pregnant, and uh-"

"Life got in the way," Steve finished for him, echoing his own words back to him.

"Yeah," Eddie agreed.

Steve paused, the silence around them almost deafening without the sounds of metal tools clanking. "Do you ever wish you'd stayed?"

Eddie was quiet as he thought about it. "I don't think so," he answered after a long pause. The tools in Steve's hands began to move again, creating a noise barrier to break up the quiet. "Guess I kinda wish things had turned out different, though. Don't get me wrong, Lucy's amazing. She's starting to crawl now. But I wish I'd been more prepared for her."

"Makes sense," Steve said.

"But I can't go back and undo it."

"Nope."

"Guess I just don't think about the 'what ifs.' More worried about right now. Making sure I don't ruin Lucy's life." Steve made an affirmative sort of sound. "What about you? I’m sure your wife and kids don’t appreciate me keeping you at work all night."

Steve scoffed, shaking his head. "Don’t have a wife or kids, actually.”

"But you were with some girl the other day,” Eddie said, almost a question more than a statement.

“Robin?” Steve asked, a smile on his voice. “We are definitely not married. Or dating or anything like that. We’re just friends.”

“She seemed pretty cozy, grabbin’ all up on ya in public like that.”

He couldn't help but smile as he listened to Steve giggle. He watched his back, the way his shoulders and back moved beneath the faded t shirt. He pictured the blush that he was sure was on Steve's cheeks. "Trust me, man, Robin and I are friends. Best friends, admittedly, but that’s it. I’ve been painfully single basically since you left.”

Eddie brought a hand to his chest, feigning surprise. "So you mean to tell me that King Steve, heartbreaker of Hawkins High, is back on the celibate train with the rest of us losers?"

Steve stood up straight and turned to face Eddie. He pulled another shop rag from his pocket, wiping his hands like he'd done yesterday. There was something about the action that made Eddie's heart beat just a little harder. He'd never noticed Steve's hands before. But now, covered in scars and grease, weathered by a few years of manual labor, he couldn't focus on much else.

"Well, that's the problem with a town like this," Steve said. "Once you've been through all the girls in high school, the dating pool gets remarkably small as an adult.

"It's nice having you back, ya know?" Steve said quietly.

"Are you saying that you missed me, Steven?" Eddie asked, his tone joking, though his curiosity was genuine.

"Are you surprised?" He asked, smiling. "I'm the one who told you not to leave, remember?"

Eddie nodded, looking to the ground between them. He did remember. He remembered it all the time, especially the first few months he was gone. He could still see Steve's face, younger then and almost sad. He remembered thinking that Steve had more to say, but not giving him the chance.

"But hey," he said, pulling Eddie out of the memory. "Can't undo it, right? And at least you're back now. Even if the circumstances aren't ideal."

He stepped away from the car towards the wall opposite Eddie's stool. He turned a knob on a radio that Eddie hadn't even noticed was there. "You mind?" He asked as he stepped back to the front of Eddie's car.

Eddie didn't answer, only nodding and offering a small shrug of his shoulders. It was nice to have the music, anyway. Just one more thing to fill the space so that Eddie wouldn't have to.

As he watched Steve work, he replayed the last time he'd seen him before he left in his mind. The way he looked shocked, almost hurt after Eddie's announcement on stage. The guilt he felt when he realized he probably should have told him sooner. The rejection in Steve's eyes when Eddie had lied through his teeth, telling him that there was nothing in Hawkins for him. He thought about the way he'd excused himself from the conversation quickly, not giving either of them time to say what they needed. He'd known even then that if Steve had asked him to stay one more time, he would have. He would have done anything for Steve.

But that was five years ago. Now he was older. He had a baby, and responsibilities that Steve couldn't understand. A part of him wished he'd stayed. Wished he'd told Steve how he felt in 1986. But he didn't. He left with the intention of putting Hawkins and everything it held behind him. He tried to forget Steve amongst a sea of unfamiliar faces, but it didn't work. Every nameless hook up in dimly lit alleys and dirty bar bathrooms only served to remind him that Steve was gone. Far away in a town that he never wanted to see again.

He thought about the first time he'd seen Billie. She was front and center at a show one night. Her brown hair teased way too high, tight dress barely covering anything. He'd taken her home that night and she was the first person that made him almost forget Steve Harrington. So he kept her. He kept her for as long as she'd allowed herself to be kept. But now she was gone. On the wind somewhere in a city that was never his home.

He continued to watch Steve work. They made small talk about their lives, work and family stuff that really didn't matter. The clock on the shop wall ticked past 8:00 before Steve dropped the hood with a sigh.

"Should be good, now," he announced. "See ya tomorrow about those brakes?"

Eddie nodded, pulling his keys from his pocket. He smiled to Steve, offering a small wave through the car window as he backed out of the shop. He watched in the rearview mirror as Steve pulled the door down, securing it with a lock. He pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket and lit one, allowing it to bounce between his lips as he sat down in his own car.

Eddie turned, putting more distance between himself and Steve before he let himself think. Maybe Steve had been right all those years ago. Maybe he should have stayed. Stayed in that alley. Stayed in Hawkins. Stayed with Steve. If he had, he wouldn’t have spent the last two days feeling bad for himself, thinking that Steve had run off and gotten married while he was sleeping his way around New York City. Maybe, he thought, a lot of things would be different.

~~~~~

previous part // next part

~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed part five! The slow burn is starting to warm up just a little bit. Can't wait to hear what y'all think of this part 🥰 have a lovely weekend!

[kudosmyhero]

Daredevil (vol. 1) #106: Life Be Not Proud!

Read Date: March 31, 2023 Cover Date: December 1973 ● Writer: Steve Gerber ● Penciler: Don Heck ● Inker: Sal Trapani ● Colorist: George Roussos ● Letterer: Shelly Leferman ● Editor: Roy Thomas ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● ugh, I like my heroes to be street level. all of this is just too much. ● this guy wanted to be “an absolute monarch with absolute power” … to be king of San Francisco… Way to rein it in there at the end, buddy ● Swamp Thing’s evil brother ● a genuinely shitty demise for that cop ● “The monster seems to be leaving peacefully.” sputters peacefully? he just killed someone! ● yikes, Black Widow looks like plastic surgery gone wrong

● Is DD starting to fall for Moon Dragon now? jeez ● finally something a little interesting. DD has to admit his blindness when he can’t follow a command from Moon Dragon ● DD has his vision back, but it also magically took away the lenses in his cowl? ● heh, others are noticing the lense pieces being gone, too ● JESUS. so long, Janis. ● without his radar sense, DD should be having trouble getting around, I would think. it’s all he’s known for so long. ● ah, ok. so they actually are making DD have some trouble getting around. it might bring this from a 1-clap issue to a 2-clap ● groans I can’t wait until DD is in NYC again and for this story arc to end. it sucks! ● 👏👏 (barely earned that second clap!)

Synopsis: Kerwin J. Broderick has been using Moon Dragon's Titanian technology for his own ends in order to reshape the city of San Francisco in his own image. When Daredevil and Moon Dragon have learned the truth, Broderick shot Moon Dragon in the back. He has unleashed his latest creation, Terrex, a creature that has the power of life itself. He has dispatched his agent the Dark Massiah to put a force-field around the city to prevent anyone from escaping. He has sent Ramrod out to smash any authorities that will resist Broderick's plot.

Broderick explains how not only was he the reputable owner of a law firm, but also the secret kingpin of crime of the San Francisco underworld. He had everyone in his back pocket until the arrival of the ethical lawyer Matt Murdock and the costumed crime fighter Daredevil. Things changed when he met Moon Dragon and tricked her into helping him, all for the sole purposes of taking over all of San Francisco. Kerwin then tells Daredevil that he intends to merge with Terrex giving him power of life and death. When the Man Without Fear attempts to stop him, Kerwin blasts him with his stun blaster and leaves the two unconscious beings behind.

Meanwhile, above the surface, Terrex is giving a show of power, swiping the police away by creating gigantic plants, and then when a police officer approaches him ages him to death. As Terrex walks away, Black Widow and Paul Carson note that everything in Terrex's path has died as Terrex has absorbed it's lifeforce. While at police headquarters Chief O'Hara is answering a flood of phone calls from panicked people when he gets a telegram telling him that his brother, who was out on expedition in Africa, has been killed.

Back at Moon Dragon's ship, Daredevil revives to find that Moon Dragon is on the brink of death. Taking her to a regenesis chamber he is unable to operate the machinery because he cannot see what color the dials are. Moon Dragon uses her powers to restore Daredevil's sight so that he can operate the machinery and restore her to full health. Using the teleportation device the two return to the surface right before Black Widow and Paul and the quartet begin to track down Terrex.

Elsewhere, Angar the Screamer is out driving with his girlfriend Janice and they happen upon Terrex. As Angar brags about how Terrex and Broderick is going to make this city theirs to control, Angar is completely oblivious to the fact that his close proximity to Terrex has killed Janice. While at the same time, Daredevil, Black Widow, and Moon Dragon deal with the threats posed by the Dark Messiah, and Ramrod. After Moon Dragon defeats the Dark Messiah, Daredevil realizes that his vision is hampering his ability to fight, and has Moon Dragon take his vision away.

Daredevil lends Black Widow a helping hand against Ramrod, however their fight is cut short by the arrival of Broderick who has arrives with Terrex and is just about to merge with the creature and destroy the city.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Daredevil_Vol_1_106)

Fan Art: Daredevil in a free fall by Prestegui

Accompanying Podcast: ● Josh and Jamie Do Daredevil - episode 17