When Gerry Conway left Marvel and joined up over at DC he was given his own little playground to toil in. In what was dubbed "Conway's Corner" we saw revivals of All-Star Comics featuring the Justice Society of America, Blackhawk, as well as new items like Firestorm (the hit of the program) and Code Name: Assassin.
Then there was Man-Bat, a character dreamt up for the pages of Batman. Someone thought it would be a good thing to give him his own book. It lasted two issues.
In the first issue (featuring a Jim Aparo cover) with a script by Conway, we are treated to pencils by Steve Ditko with heavy inks by Al Milgrom. In this strange debut issue, which throws the reader right into the ongoing storyline of the Man-Bat and his wife the She-Bat, we are introduced to Baron Tyme, a sorcerer who wants to make a slave assassin of She-Bat. Needless to say, Kirk Langstrom is not happy to see his wife so abused and takes efforts to forestall the threat.
Four years later in 1979 both Baron Tyme and Steve Ditko return. This time the writer is Len Wein and he brings back Baron Tyme in the pages of The Demon, then currently running as a back feature in Detective Comics. Baron Tyme has been suffering since his last appearance, literally torn between two dimensions and he seeks the Eternity Book of Merlin to help solve his problem. The Demon takes exception, but it requires three chapters to finally subdue the Baron and remove his threat for all time. Steve Ditko's artwork is more vigorous this time out and his version of Jack Kirby's Demon is actually quite fetching and effective.
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