Thunder Agents Classics Volume Two!

The second volume of THUNDER Agents Classics from IDW is chock full of vintage Silver Age goodness. With artwork by a who's who of the time, the reader can feast on some of the core stories which created the myth of this Tower Comics phenomenon. Wally Wood continues on the lead feature, but finds more help from Reed Crandall, Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska, Gil Kane, John Giunta, and especially Steve Ditko and Dan Adkins. Many of the stories are credited to Steve Skeates, something of a surprise to me.

The real surprise is the key story in this collection which includes THUNDER Agents #5, 6, and 7 along with the debut issue of Dynamo is a blockbuster tale titled "A Matter of Life and Death" written and designed by Dan Adkins, drawn by Steve Ditko and inked by Adkins and Wood.  This is the story upon which much of the Agents' reputation sits, the story which changed the game. Early in the series Egghead, a member of the THUNDER Squad died with little fanfare, but in this story one of the headline members of the agents meets his maker as Menthor is killed in action.

Unlike the ballyhooed and bombastically hyped "deaths" in modern comics which seem to occur on nearly a monthly basis, this demise was a true surprise. Heroes didn't die in the Silver Age, at least not mainstays like Menthor seemed to be. He was one of the original three THUNDER Agents before the advent of Lightning. Raven would hop onto the scene soon after, filling the void somewhat, but there was no denying the death of Menthor was a big deal in the Silver Age of comics.

Here are the covers of the issues included in the second volume.

Upcoming is the third volume of IDW's reprint series which debuts the weirdness of Manny Stallman and the end of the the threat of the Warlords and their minions. 

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Blue Beetle #5 - The Red Knight!

Blue Beetle #5  featuring the mystical Dan Garrett Blue Beetle hit stands in 1965. Under yet another striking Dick Giordano cover we get the fifth and final issue in Blue Beetle's run. He will return for more adventures, but under different numbering. (More on that next week.) 

We actually get credits this issue featuring writer Joe Gill and artists Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico. The Beetle battles an old friend who has come under strange influences and becomes a strangely powered Red Knight. Chess is established as something of an inspiration for this wild story of space travel and world domination. 

In the "Beetle's Nest" this time we get a look at work by Alan Weiss when he sends in a revised Blue Beetle costume. There's a letter by Dave Kaler, a fan who will become part of the Charlton firmament sooner than later on Captain Atom. Read the complete comic at this link. 

More Blue Beetle to come.

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Blue Beetle #4 - Praying Mantis Man!

Blue Beetle #4 featuring the mystical Dan Garrett Blue Beetle hit stands in 1965. Underneath a great Dick Giordano cover we are introduced to the Charlton Blue Beetle's only returning villain -- Praying Mantis - Man. 

This wild story of a green maniac threatening the world was written by Joe Gill and drawn by the steady team of Tony Tallarico and Bill Fraccio. Blue Beetle travels into the Mexico to track down a threat to the environment and finds a strange menace. 

The outreach by the Charlton gang to fans ramps up with a second letters page, this one with a contest concerning Blue Beetle's costume. 

And we are treated to the very first Blue Beetle Pin-Up. Read the complete comic at this link. More Blue Beetle tomorrow. 

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Blue Beetle #3 - Mister Thunderbolt!

Blue Beetle #3 featuring the mystical Dan Garrett Blue Beetle hit stands in 1964. In this adventure Blue Beetle is challenged by an alien invader calling himself "Mr. Thunderbolt". The Beetle's superpowers are nigh unlimited in this one which showcases him flying into deep space. 

It's nice to see an actual super-villain for Blue Beetle to contend with in this story by Joe Gill and artists Tony Tallarico and Bill Fraccio. It's all under another great cover by Dick Giordano. 

The folks at Charlton were really trying to find that vibe which Marvel had unleashed of fraternizing with the fans. We get a two-page letters page instead of the forgettable prose yarn. This one happens to have a letter from George R.R. Matin; I wonder what ever became of that guy. Read the story at this link. More Blue Beetle tomorrow. 

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Blue Beetle #2 - Hot War In The Arctic!

Blue Beetle #2  featuring a new mystic Blue Beetle debuted in 1964. This yarn throws our new hero into the fires of the Cold War, and it all starts when Red Chinese forces begin to do radiation experiment sin the Arctic which warms the ice and frees ancient creatures and ancient peoples. Beetle is called upon by a pretty lady Captain Elaine Norr to help out. Read the complete comic at this link. 

Dan Garrett is still new at the game and proves to be a mind who has mastered multiple disciplines, not just archeology. 

This is not the best Blue Beetle story by writer Joe Gill and artists Tony Tallarico and Bill Fraccio. But it serves the purpose. It is a striking Dick Giordano cover though. More Blue Beetle tomorrow. 

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Blue Beetle #1 - The Giant Mummy Who Was Not Dead!

Blue Beetle #1 featuring a new mystic Blue Beetle debuted in 1964. This is complete revision of the character with Dan Garrett (with a double t) an archeologist who is digging around with a beautiful colleague Dr. Luri Hashid trying to discover a tomb of an ancient Mummy. But things go awry when they find "The Giant Mummy Who Was Not Dead". (Arguably the best title of a comic story ever.)

What Garrett also finds is a blue scarab which grants him wide-ranging superpowers when says the magic words "Kaji Da".  Not only must the Blue Beetle defeat the Mummy, but he must also contend with an evil military leader from the region. 

The basic blue costume worn by the Blue Beetle in these issues is striking in its simplicity. The red gloves and goggles really pop. Written by Joe Gill and drawn by Tony Tallarico and Bill Fraccio, this version of Blue Beetle is one of Charlton's earliest attempts to tap into the burgeoning superhero marketplace of the 60's. That's a memorable Dick Giordano cover though. 

Read the complete comic at this link. 

More Blue Beetle tomorrow. 

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DC Finest Blue Beetle!

The DC Finest volume Blue Beetle - Blue Beetle Challenges The Red Knight gathers together not only the Steve Ditko Blue Beetle stories, but for the first time by DC presents the vintage Dan Garrett magical Beetle adventures by Joe Gill, Tony Tallarico and Bill Fraccio. Charlton picked up the Blue Beetle a decade earlier, but it was the superhero boom of the 60's which enticed them to finally launch a revised version. The Blue Beetle in these earliest stories is a vastly powerful figure, a mystical equivalent to the radioactively powered Captain Atom. When the first Blue Beetle fell away, it would take Steve Ditko to revive the character yet again, giving us a scientist named Ted Kord who use his technical skills to empower his crimefighting efforts. Ditko was fresh from his Spider-Man tenure and this Blue Beetle moved not unlike his arachnid predecessor. Oddly missing from this collection is the final unpublished Blue Beetle tale by Ditko, but in its place we get the debut issue of the second Charlton Bullseye which published a fanboy team-up between Beetle and The Question. It's an odd choice, but I'm glad it's here for a wider audience. 

Here are the covers of the issues in this volume. 

The Dojo will be taking a closer look at most all of these issues as the month tumbles along. 

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