HULK! MAGAZINE #13 & #14

”THE BIG BLACKMAIL” | “COUNTDOWN TO DARK”
Script: Doug Moench | Art: Bill Sienkiewicz w/Bob McLeod (#14)
Colors: Steve Oliff | Editor: Rick Marschall

The Plot: (issue 13) In a framing sequence, the mysterious Lupinar is briefed on Moon Knight by his assistant, Smelt. Meanwhile, Steven Grant leaves to deliver $250,000 to the Chilean ambassador’s terrorist friends in exchange for the missing Horus statue. But first Grant changes to Jake Lockley and visits his contacts, Gena and Crawley, for information. Soon after, Moon Knight makes the exchange and then follows the terrorists to see them ambush an armored truck. Moon Knight switches to Marc Spector and aids the villains to ingratiate himself with them.

Elsewhere, the Mayor of New York City receives a ransom demand complete with the threat of nuclear attack. Spector realizes that the terrorists have stolen uranium from the truck. Before he can take any action, however, someone dressed as Moon Knight, working for Lupinar, appears, ready to expose Spector. And back at his headquarters, Lupinar is shown for the first time in full, revealed as a wolfman.

(issue 14) Spector tackles the ersatz Moon Knight and both are gunned down by the terrorists. The imposter is killed, but Spector plays possum and changes into costume. The terrorists split up, so Moon Knight hitches a ride atop one car while Frenchie follows the other. Eventually Moon Knight’s car takes him to Lupinar’s home, where Moon Knight confronts the villain. As the pair duels with fencing sabers, Frenchie calls the federal nuclear response team to recover the stolen plutonium from the terrorists he had followed. With his nuclear threat canceled, Lupinar impales himself upon Moon Knight’s blade.

THE NEW TEEN TITANS #40 & TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #41

"LIFEBLOOD" | "BAPTISM OF BLOOD!"
Co-Creators: Marv Wolfman & George Pérez | Embellisher: Romeo Tanghal
Letterers: Bob Lappan (#40) & John Costanza (#41) | Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Editor: Len Wein

Note: These issues do not have credits in THE NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS volume 2. The above credits are pulled from the DC wiki.

The Plot: (issue 40) Brother Blood preaches to his flock. Meanwhile, Changeling and Terra are tutored by a teacher at Steve Dayton's estate before heading to Manhattan for an appearance with the other Titans (minus Dick Grayson) on Bethany Snow's news program. Wonder Girl debates a group of newly elected politicians over an arms shipment to Zandia, and Brother Blood joins the broadcast via satellite to assuage the public's concerns.

Later, Dick goes undercover as a reporter and meets with the three congresspeople who were voted out of office due to their connections with Blood. It turns out they were framed, so Dick offers to send them to Zandia as a fact finding committee. Soon after, accompanied by Bethany as well, the group heads to the island nation. But Dick is recognized in spite of his disguise, and Blood uses him to lure the Titans to his temple, where he captures them.

(issue 41) Brother Blood prepares to execute the Titans, but Raven's soul self saves them. Blood tests the Titans with his monsters, then challenges them to a duel. Meanwhile, the visiting congresspeople observe evidence elsewhere in Zandia of Blood's benevolence and the current regime's cruelty.

Blood battles and defeats the Titans, then traps them in an energy field and orders the brainwashed Dick Grayson to kill them. But Stafire's love for Dick overcomes his programming and he turns on Blood even as the Zandian military assaults Blood's temple. Blood plummets into a deep pit with his machinery and the temple is destroyed. As the Titans head home, they watch Bethany Snow's report stating that the congresspeople will work to sanction Zandia, while nations around the world have opened their borders to Brother Blood's church.

THE NEW TEEN TITANS #38 & #39

DC Comics presents a Wolfman/Pérez production
"WHO IS DONNA TROY?"
Script by Marv Wolfman | From a plot by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez
Art by George Pérez & Romeo Tanghal | Lettering by Ben Oda
Coloring by Adrienne Roy | Edited by Len Wein

The Plot: Through the framing device of a case summary recording, Robin explains that Terry Long asked him to investigate Wonder Girl's past since it was very important to her that she learn where she came from prior to their wedding.

Robin and Wonder Girl investigate the tenement where young Donna Troy was found by Wonder Woman, uncovering a long hidden doll. The doll leads Robin to a toymaker, and subsequently to the former owner of an orphanage. Eventually, after unwinding a long series of clues, Robin reunites Wonder Girl with her adoptive mother and her new family, and with the grave of her biological mother.

My Thoughts: The point of this story is to explain Wonder Girl's origin, a plot point dating way back to THE NEW TEEN TITANS' very first issue. As I understand it, Wonder Girl was originally created as the childhood version of Wonder Woman -- but, when the original TEEN TITANS series launched in the sixties, writer Bob Haney (apparently well known for such continuity gaffes) assumed she was Wonder Woman's sidekick and brought her onto the team. This led to Marv Wolfman later teasing an origin for Wonder Girl in the final days of the original TITANS series, and now he follows up on that here.

MAD MEN

Warning: I'm just going to jump right in and start blabbing, so if you've never watched AMC's MAD MEN (and why haven't you??), this post will probably be meaningless.

MAD MEN begins the second half of its final season tonight, and I find myself startlingly indifferent to this fact. Now, I still like MAD MEN. I love the characters and their interactions, and sometimes I enjoy seeing them react to the real life news of the sixties. But the problem is, I don't love the sixties themselves so much.

I originally missed the first two seasons of this show. I began watching with the premiere episode of season three, but I was able to get up to speed fairly easily. Following that season, I let MAD MEN lie until a year later. In advance of the premiere of season four, I watched the first two seasons, plus I viewed season three for a second time. All caught up, I took in season four as it aired. Then MAD MEN missed a year due to negotiations with AMC, and in that time I met my future wife. She was just getting into the series, so we watched all of it together over our earliest days and weeks as a couple. Thus I saw seasons one, two, and four each a second time and season three for a third time. From there I've watched each subsequent season one time each, as they aired.

HULK! MAGAZINE #11 & #12

”GRAVEN IMAGE OF DEATH!” | “EMBASSY OF FEAR!”
Script: Doug Moench | Art: Gene Colan & Tony Dezuniga (issue 11);
Keith Pollard, Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito (issue 12)
Editor: Rick Marschall

The Plot: (issue 11) Moon Knight witnesses a murder, then becomes embroiled in a chase around the city involving a key stolen by the murderer, the hijacked taxi cab of Jake Lockley, and a statue of the Egyptian god, Horus, which has been replaced with a fake. Finally, Moon Knight’s investigation leads him back to the mansion of Joel Luxor, who was murdered earlier in the evening, and where Marlene is now at the mercy of Crane, Luxor’s ex-partner turned killer.

(issue 12) Moon Knight rescues Marlene, who’s been shot in the arm, from Crane. They fail to find the Horus statue, but learn that Chilean ambassador Alphonse Leroux has it. Days later, Steven Grant and Marlene attend a gala at the French embassy, where Grant introduces himself to Leroux and expresses interest in acquiring the statue. Leroux invites Grant to his embassy at midnight, but Moon Knight arrives first, learns Leroux is in league with terrorists, and disables Leroux’s guards. At midnight, Grant shows up and tells Leroux he will pay half a million dollars for Horus, but only on the condition that Moon Knight deliver the money to Leroux’s terrorist allies.

THE NEW TEEN TITANS #37 & BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5

"LIGHT'S OUT, EVERYONE!" | "PSIMON SAYS..."
Writers: Marv Wolfman (NTT #37) & Mike W. BARR (B&TO #5)
Artists: George Pérez & Romeo Tanghal (NTT #37) & Jim Aparo (B&TO #5)
Letterers: John Costanza (NTT #37) & Jim Aparo (B&TO #5)
Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: (NTT #37) At the order of Psimon, Gizmo breaks Shimmer and Mammoth out of prison. Dr. Light convinces them to spring him as well. At the suggestion of Shimmer and Mammoth, Psimon leads the Fearsome Five to kidnap Dr. Jace, a woman with a technique for imbuing normal humans with superpowers.

Later, Terra leaves a Titans' meeting when she receives an emergency signal from Dr. Jace, who gave her and her brother their abilities. Terra heads for Jace's lab, where she finds the Outsiders -- Metamorpho, Katana, Halo, and Black Lightning -- investigating the demolished facility. The Titans catch up and a fight breaks out, but when the Outsiders' fifth member -- Terra's brother, Geo-Force -- reveals himself, both sides make amends.

The teams' respective leaders, Robin and Batman, are summoned from Gotham City while Psimon mentally coerces Dr. Jace into working with the Fearsome Five. When the heroes investigate several recently transformed half-mud vagrants, their path leads them to Psimon's lab outside Gotham City. There, Dr. Jace's procedure has been perfected and the Fearsome Five have an army of mud monsters under their control.

After a brief skirmish, Psimon triggers explosives on his island lair which sink it into the sea with the Titans and Outsiders aboard, while the villains and their monsters escape.

APRIL FOOLS'

I understand April Fools' Day jokes are all the rage here on the internet, but since the words "not a hoax" are right there in my blog title, I feel like I should recuse myself from the holiday or I could be sued for false advertising. I hope you all understand.