Friday, August 16, 2024

Super-Love BRAVE AND THE BOLD "In the Coils of the CopperHead" Conclusion

When Last We Left our Horny Heroines and Hapless Hero...

Batman's somewhat-silly plan to make the crafty CopperHead believe he was leaving a near-priceless artifact unguarded due to being distracted by Wonder Woman and Batgirl fighting over his affections has backfired spectacularly as both super-heroines are now totally-enamored of the Caped Crusader and the villain has made off with his prize!
I'd like to believe that writer Bob Haney was given the concept by editor Murray Boltanoff, not that Haney himself came up with the plot.
Note: editor Boltanoff was not a "continuity cop".
Many of the characters appearing in his books acted out of character from time to time!
This was artist Bob Brown's first time drawing Batman, obviously impressing artist-turned Editorial Director Carmine Infantino enough to move him over to the Batman and Robin strip in Detective Comics when the Bob Kane Studio's contract ended in early 1968!
BTW, Brown was the illustrator of the Detective Comics story that revamped Batman from campy tv-era Bright Knight back to the original concept of nocturnal Dark Knight as shown HERE!
Brown stayed on the title until he left DC in 1973, going to Marvel, where he ended up on Daredevil and the Black Widow a few months after the tale we told last week was published!
Ironically, Brown also illustrated one part of the two-issue introduction of Marvel's villainous CopperHead during this run, thereby being one of only three artists to create same-named (but not same-powered) villains at both DC and Marvel!

Next Week:
Another Tale of Super-Love from Somewhere in the Multiverse!
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
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Thursday, August 15, 2024

Super-Love BRAVE AND THE BOLD "In the Coils of the CopperHead" Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

I'll let The Narrator fill you in on what's going on, since I find it, well, quite silly!
(But remember, it was 1968, the era of the Batman TV series...)

To Be Concluded...Tomorrow!
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
Written by Bob Haney, penciled by Bob Brown, and inked by Mike Esposito, this story from DC's Brave and the Bold #78 (1968) shows a fascinating difference between DC and Marvel when it came to Super-Love.
As you saw in last week's Daredevil-Black Widow-Hawkeye triangle, the emotions were sincere and heartfelt...if a tad extreme and hyperbolic, much as most teens experience romance!
OTOH, DC's approach (at least in the superhero books) is to treat romance as yukky and inconvenient, with girls/women being total ditzes!
In contrast, both Marvel's and DC's romance books were remarkably-similar in approach and content!
Apparently, Marvel felt both the romance and superhero titles had a similarly-sophisticated audience, whereas DC believed the superhero books skewed younger than the romance titles!

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Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Super-Love BRAVE AND THE BOLD "In the Coils of the CopperHead" Part 1

This week, it's a triangle between DC Heroines over a Hero!
To Be Continued...Tomorrow!
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
Written by Bob Haney, penciled by Bob Brown, and inked by Mike Esposito, this story from DC's Brave and the Bold #78 (1968) came at an unusual time.
Batgirl was about to be introduced on the third season of the classic Batman TV series.
And, the producers of that series had done a test reel (not as long as a pilot episode, about 10-15 minutes) for a Wonder Woman series.
Had this story, created in late 1967-early 1968, been meant as an intro to promote and tie-in the two series?
Since the WW series wasn't picked-up, we'll never know...

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Friday, August 9, 2024

Super-Love DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW "Mark of Hawkeye!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...
Actually, we never quite get to the level of jealousy shown on this John Romita Sr-illustrated cover in this story, but it does get heated!

Clint (Hawkeye) Barton, frustrated at being spurned by Wanda (Scarlet Witch) Maximoff, travels from Avengers Mansion in NYC to the mansion in San Francisco rented by Natasha (Black Widow) Romanova to try to win his first love back.
But, her current paramour, Matt (Daredevil) Murdock (who is also living in the stately manor) had something to say about the matter and the two superheroes duke it out to a somewhat-silly stalemate...
Note: The incident T'Challa refers to (which occurred half-a-year earlier in Daredevil and the Black Widow #92) is shown HERE.
The Black Widow and Daredevil help The Avengers defeat Magneto, rescue Captain America, Iron ManScarlet Witch and The (original) X-Men, then return to San Francisco, but break up several months later.
Daredevil returns to NYC, Black Widow remains in California, where she forms and leads The Champions.
Trivia: Natasha officially becomes a reserve Avenger, but Matt declines the offer.
In the future, she will become a full member, and lead the team for a period.
Hawkeye ends up becoming a lynchpin to what becomes the first Marvel multi-issue crossover "event"...The Avengers/Defenders War! which runs through both the Avengers and Defenders books for the entire summer!
(We really love going full-on comics nerd once in a while.
Thanks for indulging us!)

Next Week
Super-Love Returns to the DC Universe with a Role-Reversal as Two Heroines Fight Over a Hero!
Hint: It'll be a Wonder if You Don't go Batty Trying to Figure Out Who!
You'll Cry Your Eyes Out if You Miss It!
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Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Super-Love DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW "Mark of Hawkeye!" Part 1

If you know Marvel Comics history, the title above should tip you off as to what's about to happen...
If not, let's just say almost everyone's nightmare is about to occur...
...as Natasha (Black Widow) Romanova's current romantic partner meets her ex-romantic partner...who wants to rekindle the flames of love!
And on that sullen note, we bid adieu until...
FRIDAY!
You'll Cry Your Eyes out if You Miss It!
Written by Steve (Howard the Duck) Gerber, penciled by Horror Age veteran Sam Kweskin (with some reworking by John Romita Sr), and inked by Golden Age/Silver Age great Syd Shores, this tale from Marvel's Daredevil and the Black Widow #99 (1973) was a break after several multi-issue plotlines which saw Matt (Daredevil) Murdock and Natasha become involved both professionally and romantically, move from NYC to San Francisco, and move in together into a rented mansion (on separate floors...at first).
The front-cover logo was modified to reflect the partnership, which lasted from #87 to #107, after which Daredevil returned to NYC, while the Black Widow remained on the West Coast and formed and lead The Champions!
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