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browsethestacks · 2 months

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World's Finest: Origins

Art by Steve Rude

#Comics #Steve Rude #DC Comics #Superman #Batman #World's Finest #Worlds Finest #Secret Origins #Art #DC #Science Fiction #Krypton #Gotham #Zorro #Jor-El #Lara #Before And After

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cantsayidont · 4 months

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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.)

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sbd-laytall · 8 months

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Forever going to love how Dick refers to Tim as his brother AND his friend.

Secret Origins 80-Page Giant (1998) #1

#it honestly sums up their relationship pretty well #also:#Dick always be ruffling Tim’s hair and I love it #dick grayson #tim drake #secret origins #secret origins 80 page giant #dc comics #one shot #my post

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chernobog13 · 2 months

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Detail from John Byrne's cover for Secret Origins (vol. 2) Annual #1 (August, 1987), featuring the origins of the Doom Patrol and Captain Comet.

Hey, DC - please bring back the original Captain Comet!

#Secret Origins #Doom Patrol #Negative Man #Elasti-Girl #The Chief #Robotman #Negative Woman #Tempest #Celsius #Captain Comet #DC Comics #John Byrne

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comfortfoodcontent · 4 months

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1987 The Legion of Super-Heroes DC Comics House Ad

#who's who #who's who in the legion #the legion #legion #the legion of super heroes #the legion of super-heroes #legion of super heroes #legion of super-heroes #secret origins #print ads #1987 #80s #1980s #comic ads #comic house ads #dc #dc comics house ads #dc comics

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shyjusticewarrior · 4 months

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Thinking about Batman Secret Files: The Gardener.

Ivy's original idea of enabling plants to tell humans how they're hurting them makes her origin story that much more tragic. She was able to communicate her pain and Woodrue chose to ignore her, crushing the very dream he used to lure her.

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fancyfade · 10 months

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Do you know if you’ve ever done a post that dismantles the misconception that Dick “stole” Robin away from Tim to give it to Damian? I’ve seen posts debunking a lot of stuff on your poll but i have a hard time trying to find ones that succinctly tear that one apart lol

I've got you

Damian's intro to being Robin is told 2 ways, one in pre new 52 continuity, in battle for the cowl, and the other in post new 52 continuity, in secret origins 4.

in battle for the cowl, Damian starts in his black and white league of shadows uniform. Then, he's shot by Batman!Jason and Dick has some "i'm responsible for this child" moment, but does not make him Robin. We see Damian pretty much right after he regains consciousness:

Alfred tells him to earn his keep and gives him the Robin outfit, and next thing we see he's Robin

That's Battle for the Cowl, the pre-new 52 story (and also aside: first thing Damian does as Robin, what Alfred is setting him up to do, is to save Tim's life with squire (link))

Secret Origins 4 is for the broader part my favorite (I do like Damian saving Tim's life in Battle for the cowl tho), and I think it's way mroe focused on Damian's character.

We start, we see he's trying to establish a connection to his father

and he's clearly resentful about not having a connection to his dad

Alfred's worried Damian's going too far

So Alfred has Dick bring Damian back to the Batcave and says he found something

Dick is clearly in on it in that he knows it is going on, but it is framed as Alfred's idea, with him forging the letter, him being the one reaching out to Damian and worried he's going too far and contacting Dick (and dick saying he doesn't know much about Damian beforehand in this comic and Alfred explains), and Alfred being the one who seemed to have made the suit, since Dick said he liked it and alfred says dialogue implying it was his design decision (never wise to stray too far from perfection")

anyway the implication is that Alfred made Damian Robin to try to give him a connection to his father, because Damian was inconsolable (but... in the assassin way not the crying way :P)

even in Red Robin #1, which I assume most people (who read comics :P) are referencing for Dick 'giving' Damian Robin, all Tim says is how can you let Dick w

So it might be reasonable for the reader to assume here that Dick made Damian Robin.. but since he didn't, Tim is just asking how he can let him wear it. I have a post fully breaking down this scene here (link)

#pokemonisbeast1999 #dc comics #damian wayne #robin #tim drake #alfred pennyworth #dick grayson #batfam #secret origins #battle for the cowl #2009 era batfam stuff

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dailydccomics · 1 year

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Negative Man’s beginnings Secret Origins Annual vol 2 #1

#larry trainor #negative man #dc comics #doom patrol #secret origins #vintage #elasti girl #robotman #dc

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evilhorse · 10 months

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Captain America #155

#captain america #William burnside #bucky #jack monroe #red skull #doppleganger #secret origins #the falcon #falcon #sam wilson #marvel comics #comics #70s comics #bronze age comics

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dailyjsa · 7 months

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Secret Origins v2 #7

Writer: Roy Thomas

Artist: Michael Bair

Inker: Steve Montano

Colors: Carl Gafford

#dc comics #wesley dodds #the sandman #lee travis #crimson avenger #secret origins #comics

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grotesquelly · 5 months

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More random polls :p

#dc #dc comics #barbara gordon #james gordon #jim gordon #batgirl #oracle #batman #roger gordon #tumblr polls #secret origins

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browsethestacks · 3 months

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Vintage Comic - Secret Origins Annual #03

Pencils: George Pérez

Inks: George Pérez

DC (1989)

#Comics #DC Comics #George Pérez #Secret Origins #Teen Titans #Titans #New Teen Titans #Titans East #Titans West #Vintage #Art #DC #Secret Origins Annual #1989 #1980s #80s #George Perez

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cantsayidont · 7 months

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November-December 1977. While Catwoman's comic book appearances throughout the '70s were frequently ambivalent, I suspect the biggest single factor in her ultimate shift from villain to romantic foil was the debut of the Huntress, who first appeared in ALL-STAR COMICS #69, around the same time this issue revealed her origin. Suggested by inker Bob Layton as a way to add more female members to Justice Society of America, the Huntress was Helena Wayne, the daughter of Earth-2's Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle Wayne — the Golden Age Batman and Catwoman, who this story reveals had married back in 1955. (The circumstances were later described in a moving story by Alan Brennert and Joe Staton, published in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #197 in 1983.) Although Helena's subsequent encounter with her mother's Earth-1 counterpart in THE BATMAN FAMILY #17 was careful to emphasize that the "modern" Catwoman wasn't the same person as the Golden Age Selina and didn't necessarily have the same destiny, the origin of the Huntress nonetheless gave new prominence to the possibilities of the Batman-Catwoman relationship, Denny O'Neil's skepticism notwithstanding.

#comics #dc super stars #secret origins #joe staton #bob layton #the huntress #helena wayne #batman #catwoman #bruce wayne #selina kyle #green arrow #legion of super heroes #justice society of america #batcat #earth-2 #golden age batman

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comicarthistory · 1 year

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Page from Secret Origins #45. 1989. Art by Grant Miehm and Terry Beatty.

#dc comics #dc universe #Blackhawk #world war 2 #grant miehm #secret origins #terry beatty #Martin pasko #howard chaykin #will eisner

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chernobog13 · 4 months

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Secret Origins (vol. 2) #1 (April, 1986). Written by Roy Thomas. Pencilled by Wayne Boring. Inked by Jerry Ordway. Colored by Gene D'Angelo. Lettered by David Cody Weiss.

#Secret Origins #Superman #Lois Lane #Earth-Two #DC Comics #Roy Thomas #Wayne Boring #Jerry Ordway #Gene D'Angelo #David Cody Weiss

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tomoleary · 2 months

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Keith Giffen and Rick Bryant - Secret Origins #18 Creeper pg. 1 splash (1987) Source

#keith giffen #Rick Bryant #secret origins #creeper

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