The Liberty Project #5 And #6

James Fry did the cover and the interior pencils for The Liberty Project #5 (October 1987) that features Crackshot, Burnout, Vibe...er, Slick, Cimarron and Johnny Savage. "How to Take Over A Planet part 1" was written by Kurt Busiek, inked by Doug Hazlewood, colored by Adam Philips and lettered by Mindy Eisman. The Liberty Project team faces aliens and become media darlings.

James Fry, Richard Howell and Stan Woch did the cover of The Liberty Project #6 (November 1987) that features Valkyrie vs Cimarron. Fry once again did the interior pencils while Kurt Busiek wrote "Misery and Gin" that was inked by Doug Hazlewood, colored by Adam Philips and colored by Mindy Eisman. Cimarron travels to Nelson, where people have been going in but not coming out. She meets up with Valkyrie, an aviatrix that flew with Skywolf and Airboy. They find out that someone has been brainwashing the townsfolk.

John Bolton's Halls of Horror #2

Three stories appear in John Bolton's Halls of Horror #2 (June 1985). The first features a caveman named Tumak that leaves his tribe. The second features a version of the Humgoo tale from The Monster Club. The final story is about Father Shandor, a monk turned demon stalker. The stories were scripted by Steve Moore and colored by Tim Smith. John Bolton did the wraparound cover, interior pencils and ink.

Champions #4

Doctor Arcane graces the cover of Champions #4 (November 1986) as drawn by Carol Lay. "The Curse of the Hellfire Crown" story continues with Dennis Mallonee as writer, Chris Marrinan as penciller, Dell Barras as inker, Marcus David as colorist, Carrie Speigle as letterer, Sean Deming as editor and Catherine "Cat" Yronwode was the editor-in-chief. The roleplaying game bonus features include Champions Combat Room #4 and character information for Rose and Malice.

Champions #2

Flare fighting Malice graces the cover of Champions #2 (September 1986) as drawn by Carol Lay, who also did the interior artwork. Dennis Mallonee returns as the writer while Catherine "Cat" Yronwode is back as the editor. The bonus roleplaying game features include Champions Combat Room #2 along with character information on Icestar and the Morbanes.

Thanks For Visiting

Thanks to the thirty thousand people that has visited Moongem Comics.

Champions #1

No, Champions #1 (June 1986) is not the group from Marvel Comics but is actually based on characters from the super hero roleplaying game of the same name. The six isssue mini-series was published by Eclipse Comics. The cover features Flare, Icestar, Marksman, Geo-Force...er, Giant and Rose. The cover artist was Carol Lay, who also inked and penciled the interior. "The Curse of the Hellfire Crown" was written by Dennis Mallonee and edited by Catherine "Cat" Yronwode. Character information and stats are written up for Flare and Foxbat for the roleplaying game in the back of the book along with Champions Combat Room #1.

What makes this issue of Champions #1 really special is that Dennis Mallonee signed the inside front cover and Sean Deming signed on the Champions Combat Room #1 page. Both signed to Kelly but Sean added "Thanks for your help in Atlanta".

The World of Metropolis #3

John Byrne once again did the cover and script for The World of Metropolis #3 (October 1988). "Mr. Kent Goes To Metropolis" finds Clark settling in the big city. He battles a gang in his suit and tie before his appointment with the dean of Metropolis University. Clark starts washing dishes at a burger joint and meets a redheaded waitress named Rose. He secretly helps Lois Lane while wearing a different suit and tie. Clark and Rose become very close but their dating stops when he quits the burger joint after graduating. The end finds him visiting her and her two girls in the present.

The World of Metropolis #2

John Byrne was the writer and cover artist for The World of Metropolis #2 (September 1988). "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" finds Lois Lane telling her younger sister, Lucy, about the time she went to get a job at the Daily Planet at fifteen. She talked to a young Perry White. Lois later sneaks out of the house to dish up some dirt on Lex Luthor. Odd to see Lois Lane and Lex Luthor both as redheads even though the cover shows her as a brunette (Lucy is a blonde). Win Mortimer penciled this issue while Dick Giordano and Sal Trapani inked.

Who's Who Update '87 #4

Todd McFarlane did the wraparound cover for Who's Who Update '87 #4 (November 1987). This issue features characters from Lois Lane to Rampage. The Minutemen from Watchmen is included as is the revised version of Power Girl as the granddaughter of Arion from Atlantis. I have ten issues of the original series, four issues of the '87 update and three issues of the '88 update. I even have both issues of the Who's Who in Star Trek. News of a new Who's Who twelve issue series is coming out this year to celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of DC Comics. One is needed especially after the events of 52 and Infinity Crisis. I would also like to see a separate version done just for the Elseworlds characters.

The Warlord Annual #2

Dick Giordano and Dan Jurgens did the cover for The Warlord Annual #2 (1983) with the latter also doing the interior pencils. The story, titled "The Prophecy", was written by Cary Burkett, inked by Mike DeCarlo and colored by Carl Gafford. Travis Morgan aka the Warlord meets Krystovar, a seeker of knowledge and a gatherer of ancient lore. He tells of Lord Norrad the colony of New Atlantis. After jumping off a ship, the Warlord finds an underwater cavern that leads to a secret stockpile of futuristic weapons that includes what appears to be saucer-shaped UFOs. He hops on an Atlantean sled to save Krystovar from the clutches of Ar-Pharazael, the ruler of New Atlantis. The mad king tells the seeker of knowledge that the brother that he has been looking for is still alive but transformed into one of the brood-brothers. I read this issue when it originally came out and recently picked up another copy without knowing if I had it or not but it was still a great read.

American Honda Presents Supergirl

In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportan's National Safety Belt Campaign, American Honda Presents DC Comics' Supergirl (1994) was a giveaway special that tried to get kids in America to buckle up. Superman does show up to help his cousin use an alien machine to enter Steve's mind after he goes into a coma caused by being in an automobile accident. He thinks his younger sister died for not buckling up and he has a series of nightmares that involves them in various vehicular accidents. Supergirl tries to change the outcomes of the nightmares in hopes of waking him up. The back of this issue has some trivia pages that explores the truths and myths of seat belts and accidents. This got me to thinking that an educational comic about the dangers of using cell phones while driving needs to be published now.

The cover of American Honda Presents DC Comics' Supergirl was drawn by Angelo Torres, who also penciled the interior art. The writers included Robert Loren, Fleming
Andrew Helfer, Barry Marx and Joe Orlando (the latter was also the colorist). John Costanza provided the lettering while Barry Marx was the editor.

Superman #34

Kerry Gammill did the cover for Superman #34 (August 1989), which depicts a cloaked creature behind the Man of Steel, who is holding Maggie Sawyer's daughter, while the Metropolis police detective holds a pistol. "By Hook or by Crook" starts off with how Aleister Hook, a doctor that collects children, turns into a shadowy winged creature. Superman arrives at "The Project" to find almost all the children that were kidnapped by Hook with wings. The only one without wings is Maggie Sawyer's daughter since she was rescued before the transformation could be completed. Hook is back and manages to kidnap the girl again to complete the transformation but he still does not succeed thanks to Superman, Maggie and her ex-husband. This issue was written by Jerry Ordway, penciled by Kerry Gammill, inked by Dennis Janke and colored by Glenn Whitmore.

Superman #394

The cover of Superman #394 (April 1984) by Paris Cullins and Dick Giordano depicts the Man of Steel battling the Viking from Valhalla, The story titled "The Man Who Would Be President" was written by Elliot S! Maggin, penciled by Curt Swan, inked by Dave Hunt and colored by Gene D'Angelo. Valemar of the Flame comes to life after Bucky Berns writes that he should be enlisted to fight pollution. The Viking from Valhalla first mistakes Superman as the reason for a bottling company polluting the river. A few more events come to pass that Bucky Berns writes about and the reader finds out that a foreign group is basically making his thoughts come true thanks to a device orbiting the earth. Superman and Valemar team up to shut the bottling plant down.

Women Wednesday: Zatanna, Wonder Woman and Batgirl

The Brave and the Bold #33 will feature Zatanna, Wonder Woman and Batgirl having a ladies night out. The issue goes on sale April 21 from DC Comics. The cover art would make a great poster.

The Omega Men #1

I have been wanting to pick up The Omega Men (April 1983) for a long time but never found a copy of this science fiction series until recently. The fanboy in me jumped with excitement when I found a copy for ninety-nine cents. The cover was done by Mike DeCarlo and Keith Giffen (the latter also did the interior art). This issue takes place after Green Lantern #141 and Teen Titans #21. My only exposure to the team was house ads and the entry in Who's Who in the DC Universe. The story was written by Roger Slifer. The team takes over a Citadel base on the planet Slagg before going to Broot's homeworld known as Changralyn. I actually ended up liking Broot more than Tigorr, the shape changing feline humanoid, who acted like a Wolverine knock-off.

Detective Comics Annual #3

George Pratt did the cover for Detective Comics Annual #3 (1990), which depicts Batman sitting on a giant mushroom with two Asian warriors about to strike with their swords. "Obligation" is a better story than the cover with Archie Goodwin as the writer, Dan Jurgens as the penciller and Dick Giordano as the inker. Batman finds himself battling the Yakuza in Gotham City before traveling to Tokyo to fight Tsunetomo, who trained a young Bruce Wayne.

Detective Comics #627

Detective Comics #627 (March 1991) is an eighty page anniversary issue celebrating Batman's six hundredth appearance. The cover artwork was down by Norm Breyfogle. The issue reprints "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" from Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) and "The Cry of the Night is -- Kill!" from Detective Comics #387 (May 1969). Two new versions of "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" is also included. The first was written by Marv Wolfman, penciled by Jim Aparo and inked by Mike DeCarlo. The second was written by Alan Grant, penciled by Norm Breyfogle and inked by Adrienne Roy. A two-page pin up featuring Batman, his supporting cast and rogues gallery is included in the back of the issue.