It starts with Santa Claus being blown up.
It ends with one of the most garish gifts in the DC Universe.
It features six super-heroes behaving criminally stupid in an Agatha Christie-style caper that climaxes with a ridiculous deus ex machina simply because the story had only so many pages and just had to end.
So why is “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus” such a fun story – and yes, even important?
Continue reading “Slay Bells Ring! The Justice League Gets a Lock on Santa’s Killer”
Len Wein had a problem: He was too good.
The writer for “Justice League of America” had marked the 100th issue of DC’s premier team book in 1972 with a rousing, riveting three-part JLA/JSA team-up that brought together 33 heroes to save Earth 2. It was a time-spanning epic that re-introduced the Golden Age heroes the Seven Soldiers of Victory and an old-school story so much fun, it sent a generation of comic book lovers into orbit.
A year later, Wein was ordered to do come up with something even better.
Continue reading “The JLA/JSA Nightmare: When Nazis Rule an Earth”
The Big Two in comics – DC and Marvel – use the summer to declare war and blow up universes.
Just a way to help readers pass school vacation.
While DC’s “Convergence” and Marvel’s “Secret Wars” are currently laying waste to continuity and wallets through their multiple, mediocre tie-ins, the summer comics event isn’t a new thing – but conversely, it was far more enjoyable and less painful to the wallet.
Continue reading “The Iron Hand That Shook the World: The Summer Comics Event of ’72”
