Doc and the gang are flying home in outer space after their battle in #5 (which I haven't read, but I've got a copy coming in next month) when their ship is struck by some small meteors. As Doc takes a space walk to remove a lodged meteor from the hull, he is bombarded by ... COSMIC RAYS! Are you kidding? DC didn't even try to come up with a new name for this phenomenon. I was shocked.
Anyway, these rays seemed to have an affect on Doc (as they tend to do) and transformed him into a robot. Getting fed up with all of the human characteristics that the Metal Men have been displaying, Doc creates the Gas Gang to do away with his Metal Men ... forever. The gang includes oxygen, helium, chloroform and the twin carbons - monoxide and dioxide.
Battle ensues, metal beats gas, robots turn Doc back to human and he doesn't seem to mind their human characteristics as much. We'll see how he feels next issue. The cover on this one is a bit misleading as it still shows Doc as a human with the Gas Gang.
That post reminds me of Challengers #3, where Rocky takes a space flight and returns with very Fantastic Four-like powers. There's a lot of early Marvel in those Kirby Challengers issues. Great read.
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Now complete on Strange Journey to Astonish Into Suspense Tales of Mystery! Still working on Adult Adventure Worlds of Amazing Strange Fantasy! KirbyJack's FeedBacks!
Tin has built his nameless robot from a do-it-yourself robot kit. I imagine these were hot Christmas gifts during the mid 60s.
Doc receives a death threat from an organization known as B.O.L.T.S., to which the Metal Men reply "N.U.T.S.". So, Doc is now the man from N.U.T.S., and he and his Metal Men vow to stop B.O.L.T.S.. Turns out B.O.L.T.S. is actually a giant robot built behind the Iron Curtain. He has been sent to destroy democracy, but has also revealed that he will turn on his creators once he has completed the primary task. Makes you wonder why anyone in the DCU would even consider creating or working with robots. Not a great track record here.
During the battle, B.O.L.T.S. finds himself unexplainably attracted to Nameless, who considers herself just as worthless as her man Tin often does around the other Metal Men. In the midst of combat, B.O.L.T.S. starts putting the moves on Nameless, using pick-up lines that are even cheesy for a robot. This eventually leads to his downfall and democracy is safe for the time being.
And is Tin now referring to his lady as Beautiful just because that's what B.O.L.T.S. was saying? We'll have to keep reading to see if it sticks.
In an effort to get Tin to pay more attention to Nameless, Tina takes her in to the auto shop for a complete makeover. Doesn't work, as Tin is still playing cards with Doc & the Men. What does get their attention is the giant dinosaur robot that has attacked the team. Little do they know that this robot dinosaur is actually a spaceship sent to Earth to retrieve Doc and Tina (Transformer prototype issue?).
The inept dinosaur accidently brings the entire team back to the alien planet. The maker of said robot wants Tina for his own (I guess I never realized when I was younger how hot the robot women in the Metal Men were, because they seem to be getting a lot of attention lately).
The alien makes a robot double of Doc and places his own "responsometer" in the imposter in an effort to win over Tina. She doesn't buy it. Then the alien transfers his own consciousness into the real Doc. She doesn't buy it. Good thing the rest of the team was there, 'cause they save the day and prevent Doc from getting dropped into the smelter.
Just read this HOM 80. The best story was a Meskin masterpiece about a sleazy oil man who tries to steal an ancient Persian text from some abandoned ruins in the desert...and who gets his just desserts in the end. It's filled with great Meskin artwork, including his trademark creative panel designs.
The last story is a nice one by Cardy about a giant alien who is stranded on earth.
Another SA D.C. book I've never seen. Cool cover. I'm a big Meskin fan too. Some of my favorite is his work on Black Terror...but his D.C. Sci-Fi and Fantasy stuff is a very close second. GOD BLESS...
#3666340 - 12/20/0901:33 PMRe: Silver Age reading room.
[Re: jimjum12]
rodan57rodan57
FACT if I stop posting, trillions and trillions of transistors would be out of work.
Registered: 01/24/06
Posts: 4198
Loc: Small Town Ontario
I have been doing a lot of listening to podcasts from this blog, The Comic Book Attic , and it's inspired me to read types of comics I would never normally have picked up. It's a great site to listen to someone who just loves to read and share his knowledge and opinions on all comic books.
While at Looking for Heroes, Kitchener, Ontario, I pickup a couple of cheap DCs from 1967, Superman's Girlfriend #78 and Metal Men #27 (more on this one at a later date). I am an early Marvel fan, through and through, and the only way I might, as a kid, had ever looked at such DCs would have been while waiting at the barber shop for my monthly crew cut.
This is Lois Lane #78, October 1967 cover date.
The first story was a probably quite a common plot for this book as Lois and Lana, fearing that Superman will never love either of them, forsake the world to live in Kandor. Events make them realise their error and they return to the world in which they belong. Not remarkable but a fun enough read.
The second story, "Superman's Forbidden Room", was a reprint from Lois Lane #2, cover dated, June 1958. Here's the cover from the Grand Comic Book Database:
What struck me profoundly was the quality of the art by Wayne Boring. I'd always felt that compared to Marvel, DCs art was staid, conservative and quite frankly, if you pardon the pun, boring.
Here is a page from the story.
The staging, pencils and inks are top notch and a wonderful surprise. It helps me understand DC's attitude to the "crude" work they saw being produced by Atlas at this time and why DC was considered the professional industry standard.
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I try to imagine my collection as what could sit on the bookcase shelves of a slightly compulsive teenage boy who collects every Marvel, circa Christmas 1965. The collection would sit in neat piles beside a ball glove and an Aurora model of the Mummy.
I have been doing a lot of listening to podcasts from this blog, The Comic Book Attic , and it's inspired me to read types of comics I would never normally have picked up. It's a great site to listen to someone who just loves to read and share his knowledge and opinions on all comic books.
While at Looking for Heroes, Kitchener, Ontario, I pickup a couple of cheap DCs from 1967, Superman's Girlfriend #78 and Metal Men #27 (more on this one at a later date). I am an early Marvel fan, through and through, and the only way I might, as a kid, had ever looked at such DCs would have been while waiting at the barber shop for my monthly crew cut.
This is Lois Lane #78, October 1967 cover date.
The first story was a probably quite a common plot for this book as Lois and Lana, fearing that Superman will never love either of them, forsake the world to live in Kandor. Events make them realise their error and they return to the world in which they belong. Not remarkable but a fun enough read.
The second story, "Superman's Forbidden Room", was a reprint from Lois Lane #2, cover dated, June 1958. Here's the cover from the Grand Comic Book Database:
What struck me profoundly was the quality of the art by Wayne Boring. I'd always felt that compared to Marvel, DCs art was staid, conservative and quite frankly, if you pardon the pun, boring.
Here is a page from the story.
The staging, pencils and inks are top notch and a wonderful surprise. It helps me understand DC's attitude to the "crude" work they saw being produced by Atlas at this time and why DC was considered the professional industry standard.
Interesting post. As to what DC thought about Atlas in June 1958, they probably barely knew they existed since they were only putting out a handful of titles and they hadn't yet hired away one of their artists, Jack Kirby. But yes, they demanded clean, simpler artwork suitable for the lighter fare aimed at a younger crowd. But they did have a stable of great artists back then: Kirby, Anderson, Kubert, Kan, Infantino, Meskin, Moriera, Toth, and many others. They also had some "boring" artists too!
